FRIDAY FOTO (September 30, 2022)

NIGHT MOVES.

(U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class David Rowe)

Sailors rig the flight deck barricade during a general quarters drill aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz on September 15, 2022.

The barricade is an emergency recovery system used only for emergency landings when a normal tailhook arrestment cannot be made.  They are designed to stop an aircraft by absorbing its forward momentum in an emergency landing or an aborted takeoff.

Barricades are rarely used but flight deck crews train how to set up the barricade webbing in a matter of minutes. The barricade is normally in a stowed condition and rigged only when required. To rig a barricade, it is stretched across the flight deck between stanchions, which are raised from the flight deck.

Click here to see a very short video on flight deck barricades work.

The Nimitz is currently docked in San Diego due to jet fuel contamination of the ship’s drinking water.