Locked Deck

Posted by Lex, on February 25, 2008

In Part XXII of “Rhythms,” I explained how every flight deck handling officer lives in fear of a “locking the deck”:

A locked deck is a kind of flight deck gordian knot: Aircraft, tractors and tow bars flung together in such cross-grained disorder that nothing can be done, not launches, not recoveries, not even a proper re-spot. A locked deck will characteristically take far more time to sort out than the dwindling reserves of airborne fuel in the waiting recovery tanker overhead the carrier will support. A locked deck can happen in a moment, and would be the Handler’s ultimate disgrace. A locked deck haunts his dreams.

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