I got into a discussion with my uncle a while back, and he insisted that people who work on the decks of aircraft carriers have the most dangerous job in the world.
I knew this was not the case, as I had recently read something about the most dangerous jobs (fishers and related jobs in fishing rank #1).
Anyway, we got into a discussion about why he thought the flight-deck job was the most dangerous and he said that people get blown off the decks. I can’t find any information on this. Maybe it used to happen, but happens less frequently now.
Not that I know of, but ships regularly practice “man overboard” drills, and carriers will have a “guard” helicopter flying near the ship in case of accidents when flight operations are going on. As well, crewmen going over the edge of the deck will usually land in the safety nets which line the edge exactly for this reason (going over the edge is often the fastest way to get out of danger in case of a crash or other accident).
The danger is more from running around in close proximity to moving aircraft with spinning propellers and sucking jet intakes, not to mention deck tractors, ordnance trolleys, and other equipment.
At the very least they carry some sort of chemical light. There are folks whose duty it is to watch for these things at night. A friend of mine serving on the Eisenhower says that on occasion some asshole will throw one of these lights overboard at night necessitating a man overboard drill.
I have a small collection of USN flight gear, plus some flight deck gear. There is a strobe like this one (a flashing beacon, rather than a radio one) that attaches to the flight deck vest/LPU by means of the large ‘safety pin’ seen in the first link.
From 1963 to 1983, I spent over nine years, total, working on carrier flight decks. Usually at night. If you’ve never done it, don’t tell people it isn’t dangerous. I know one sailor who was lost overboard at night, because the aircraft elevator had been lowered and the safety stanchions had not been raised. It was pitch-black, and he forgot where he was just for a moment and then he was in the water. He was never found. The hazards are too numerous to list, and the noise and tempo of operations is mind-boggling. Did I mention it’s pitchblack? What light there is on deck is red, and visible to about six feet. Each aircraft is tied down with a minimum of nine chains that you can’t see because they’re either black with dirt or grease, or covered in rust.
We wore life vests. If you went into the water, and the 30’ fall didn’t knock you out, you’d pull a lanyard, activating two CO2 cartridges that inflated the vest. There was a strobe light, but if there wasn’t a rescue attempt getting underway, you didn’t activate it until there was, in order to save battery life. The safety nets are nice, but a blast from a jet engine will most likely propell you right over them. They’re actually intended to be jumped down into, so the blast will pass over your head.
Given my experience is 26 years out of date, I’ll be happy to answer any flight deck related questions you may have.
This is true. Most people who go overboard don’t make it and the flight deck is very dangerous. Simply being on the deck of any ship is dangerous and the more the boat is rocking and/or stuff is going on the more dangerous it is. I’ve been standing on the deck while the ship was in heavy seas and you can’t believe that you don’t slide off and into the water. If you do you’d better hope someone is watching otherwise you’re a goner.
Echoing Harry1945’s comments, during flight operations the flight deck is nothing short of perfectly choreographed bedlam. A couple of years ago I had the opportunity to spend a couple days and nights on the USS Reagan. Guest of the Navy. Got an up close and personal tour of most areas of the ship, to include the flight deck. To the Navy’s credit, it’s a wonder why there aren’t more injuries/accidents. These guys/gals are good, very good.
According to this PDF, in 2000 (the year before Afghanistan) there were 758 deaths amongst 1,372,352 active personnel which I believe works out to a death rate of 5.52 per 10,000.
I apologize in advance if my calculations are incorrect.
My visit to the USS Ronald Reagan included a flight to and from the ship on what is referred to as the COD (Carier Onboard Delivery). It’s a prop plane that can be configured to move people or equipment or mail, etc. Anyway, my recollection is that we were told our life vests included dye markers. This may have been in addition to a strobe.
I seem to remember hearing/reading something to the effect that if you go overboard from a modern carrier while it is at maximum propulsion they won’t even bother looking for you as the propellers would have had their way with you by the time they could do anything about it…
There may be only a vague idea of when the person went over the side, but they’ll always go look. Carriers do not routinely travel at high speed, anyway. Actually, the screws on a carrier are far enough down and far enough forward that by the time a sailor came into contact with them, he or she would most likely have drowned. It’s been 30 years since I saw a carrier in drydock, but I seem to recall protrubences from the hull ahead of the screws, with the understanding they were an attempt to prevent solid objects from hitting them.
The biggest underwater hazard on carriers are the sea suction intakes. They suck in seawater for any of several purposes, at enough volume to pin you to the protective screens. Divers will retrieve the body at the next port visit.
