An F-16 Fighting Falcon has an emergency braking system that can bring it to a stop called aircraft arresting systems.

There are eight arresting systems at Shaw AFB designed to safely bring an aircraft to a stop whenever a pilot feels it is unsafe to stop the aircraft on his or her own power, said Senior Airman Tyler Bergmann, 20th Civil Engineer Squadron electric power production.

The aircraft arresting system is designed to safely bring aircraft to a stop in the event of an emergency. It is used with the aircraft arresting hook to “catch” the jet, Airman Bergmann said.

When an in-motion aircraft develops an emergency, the aircrew has to decide if they need to use the arresting system. If needed, the pilot deploys the aircraft’s hook, and lands the plane at least 1,000 feet from the arresting system.

The hook drags on the surface of the runway until it comes in contact with the 1.25-inch steel cable. Once the aircraft’s hook captures the cable, the cable rips the nylon cords, holding it flat on the runway, and unravels its attached nylon tapes from storage reels.

As the tapes are unraveled, the reels turn a hydraulic pump that applies pressure to a set of modified brakes. It is these brakes that bring the aircraft to a stop, said Bill Solanes, 20th CES barrier maintenance chief.

When a jet that is not using the system to stop drives over the cable, the cable bounces. If the cable is not held down, it may damage the jet. Small pieces of nylon rope are used to hold the cable flat on the runway, Airman Bergmann said.

“The (aircraft arresting system) is important because it is the only safe way of stopping an aircraft with only a minimal amount of damage while preventing the loss of its crew,” Mr. Solanes said.

In an average year, the aircraft arresting system stops between 10 to 12 aircraft, Mr. Solanes said.

Each time the system is used, the nylon tape must be inspected and rolled back onto its storage reels, Airman Bergman said. The cable is then returned to its home at the start of the runway and tied down with nylon rope.

“The (aircraft arresting system) allows the pilots a sense of security. We take pride knowing that every time a bird (jet) is caught, over $30 million dollars in Air Force assets are saved,” Airman Bergmann said. [ANN Salutes Tarsha Storey, 20th Fighter Wing Public Affairs]

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