Why this military plane landed like a helicopter

Incidents of air crashes often shock us since airborne disasters have high chances of casualties because they occur far away from the ground, leaving very less margin for a quick recovery. When an aircraft develops a snag or loses its control or balance, it eventually is left in the hands of its pilot to make a difference between life and death.

In the above video, the pilot of the military jet US Marine Corps Capt. William Mahoney chooses life over death and he does it in a way putting to use all his skills -technical and mental - to ensure that his defective machine didn't land him in a fatal trouble.

Mahoney took off with an AV-8B Harrier aircraft for a normal flight from the deck of USS Bataan (LHD 5) warship at sea on a morning in June, 2014, but while he tried to land back on the ship, he saw his front landing gear having turned dysfunctional.

Capt. Mahoney was helped by the controllers to get his flight in a stable position so that he could land the jet's nose on a modified padded stool so that it did not come crashing down and put its pilot's life in danger. Capt. Mahoney slowly reduced the elevation of his jet to 20 feet and the jet came down vertically to land its nose on the stool.

"It was a pretty much relief," said the captain who showed enough character in ensuring that the 46-foot-long jet weighing 31,000-pound jet landed in a perfect position though he said he did not have an idea about the landing tool's exact location. It was a sort of a gamble towards the end and it paid off perfectly well.

The captain was then received by the deck staff members and he was undoubtedly a hero on the day.

Liked the video? Look for more such positive sides on our site.

Credit: rumblestaff