GENUINE F-15 EMERGENCY LANDING USING THE ARRESTOR CABLE • SPARKS CATCHING THE CABLE RAF LAKENHEATH

Ladies gents and teddy bears, sometimes things can go wrong on the ground with aircraft but no and again, things can go wrong whilst airborne. Should this happen, an emergency landing will take place and aircraft will squawk 7700. Because runway ops will cease for a long period of time, sometimes 30-40 minutes, the F-15s that took off recently have been recalled. This is for safety reasons, for example some F-15s may be on minimum fuel or are on a short sortie. Emergency aircraft always take priority and there are options to divert to nearby stations such as Mildenhall. The emergency F-15 was dumping fuel so this opened up options to either divert aircraft to Mildenhall or back to Lakenheath while the emergency aircraft carried on dumping fuel.

The emergency F-15E Strike Eagle of the 492d Fighter Squadron will release a tail hook which is like a metal rod with a hook and the objective is to ’catch the arrestor cable’. The fire department, crash teams and 48th Maintenance Squadron are in position to assist. Thought the arresting cable on carriers are similar to cables here at bases, the carrier ones will bring the aircraft to an abrupt halt, where as the cables used at base, bring the aircraft to a more gradual stop.

A Little more info on Arrestor Gear
Now the cable or arrestor cable is known as different terms in RAF and USAF. In the RAF, it is know as RHAG, Rotary Hydraulic Arrestor Gear. The aircraft arresting system is designed to safely bring aircraft to a stop in the event of an emergency. It is used with the aircraft arresting hook to “catch” the jet.

When an in-motion aircraft develops an emergency, the aircrew has to decide if they need to use the arresting system. If needed, the pilot deploys the aircraft’s hook, and lands the plane at least 1,000 feet from the arresting system. The aircrew will contact tower to request and confirm the 'cable'.

The hook drags on the surface of the runway (which we have seen in the video) until it comes in contact with the 1.25-inch steel cable. Once the aircraft’s hook captures the cable, the cable rips the nylon cords, holding it flat on the runway, and unravels its attached nylon tapes from storage reels.

As the tapes are unraveled, the reels turn a hydraulic pump that applies pressure to a set of modified brakes. It is these brakes that bring the aircraft to a stop.

When a jet that is not using the system to stop drives over the cable, the cable bounces. If the cable is not held down, it may damage the jet. Small pieces of nylon rope are used to hold the cable flat on the runway which is why some aircraft cannot go over the cable, such as the Embraer ERJ145 which we see at RAF Coningsby.

The arrestor gear system is important as it is the only safe of stopping an aircraft with only a minimal amount of damage while preventing the loss of its crew. This is why we see many training scenarios using the arrestor gear. The more they train for this, this less mistakes made and it also gives airmen and ground crew (inc. Fire Department and Maintenance teams) the repeated training for when they will be faced with the real thing.

Each time the system is used, the nylon tape must be inspected and rolled back onto its storage reels and is then returned to its home at the start of the runway and tied down with nylon rope. The arresting system allows the pilots a sense of security. Every time a bird is caught lives are saved. With minimal damage to the aircraft, millions of dollars are also saved in the Air Force's assets.

So the cable can be used on an aircraft landing with gear issues, hydrualic issues or any issues that the aircraft has related to it being unable to stop properly. However, the cable can also be used on takeoff too.

Callsign: STOUT
Squadron: 492d Fighter Squadron “MADHATTERS” / “ BOLARS”
Tail: 311
Date of emergency: 6th December 2023
Reason for emergency: Hydraulics issue
Info by Senior Airman Tyler Bergmann, 20th Civil Engineer Squadron
https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Displ...

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