It was a normal flight day for U.S. Marine Corps Capt. William Mahoney earlier this month when he took off from the deck of the USS Bataan in his AV-8B Harrier jet.
But, shortly after takeoff Mahoney realized his front landing gear had malfunctioned, he says in the above video.
After confirming with crew on-board the ship that his landing gear was not down, Mahoney had only one option.
“At this point, it’s time to figure out how do I get the jet back on the deck safely with only three landing gear,” said Mahoney in the video.
Luckily for Mahoney, the ship was specially equipped for this type of situation.
“The ship had this amazing invention that was like, basically a stool that was specifically built for this reason,” explains Mahoney.
The problem is that Mahoney can’t see the stool as he lowers the plane.
“I don’t even know it’s there,” Mahoney recalls. “I remember looking for it and thinking ‘oh boy, this is going to get interesting.'”
But, Mahoney gets the plane down successfully bouncing the nose off the stool.
Mahoney admitted he was shaken by the incident.
“I had to sit there for a minute and remember how to shut the jet off and everything, it was a pretty big relief. I didn’t realize how much I was shaking until I got out of the aircraft.”
Comments