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In article , "TV"
wrote:

If it's the event I'm thinking of, I heard an interview from the pilot. I
don't remember the cause of the problem, but it was either insufficient cat
stroke, or more likely, an engine problem (because I don't remember him
blaming the cat/crew). After the shot, the pilot noticed that they weren't
going anywhere (not a good thing), and tried to hack it. Folks on deck were
screaming to eject. The drop tanks were punched off late, then the B/N

I'll have to rewatch it. I don't think it was in slow-motion, but the plane
goes off the deck slowly and then just seems to hang there. It's clear that
it's way below speed. Then, after an eternity, something long and thick
falls off the plane, which must have been a drop tank. The plane then
started a right bank and that's when they ejected, both hitting the water
before their chutes could fully deploy.

I got the sense from looking at it that the pilot waited too long, that he
was trying to keep the plane in the air despite a severe lack of speed. But
that's based upon my ignorant impression. I wasn't in the plane looking at
the gauges, and so maybe he thought that he could recover from the situation
and belatedly realized that he couldn't. It was scary to watch.




D