INS Vikramaditya: India’s New Carrier
Latest Update:
June 4/14: “Slammer”. Welcome to the world of assisted carrier landings. A 2-seat MiG-29KUB pilot just found out the hard way, after flying in from INS Hansa’s shore base. He was going to miss R33′s first 2 arrester wires, so he throttled up for a bolter takeoff, then caught the 3rd wire with the arrester hook. The MiG’s nose reportedly pointed skyward before slamming back to the deck.
Everyone is fine, but the nose wheel is going to need repair or replacement, and the pilot may wind up with a new nickname. We recommend “Slammer,” in the long and proud tradition of stuff that sounds cool but refers to something embarrassing.
There will be more incidents like this, as Indian aviators become more familiar with this new landing mode. Sea Harriers will absolutely kill you for a misstep during vertical landings, so it isn’t like this is some new frontier of required professionalism. It’s just that a full-speed trap is a very different animal, with its own skills and dangers. Sources: Calcutta Telegraph, “Safety scare on Gorshkov”.
INS Vikramaditya: India’s New Carrier