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Originally Posted by AVGWarhawk
I thought the same Jim. But after mulling it over the plane landed and seemed ok then burst into flames. But, don't the firemen stand by on deck for such incidents?  |
Off to the side, and nominally in some form of shelter; just like full-runway landing strips, there's a safety factor for those guys already on the deck/ground - pilots can absolutely "bolter" and miss the arresting gear, or blow a tire, or any other number of things can go wrong at landing. There's going to be some response time no matter what, even on the deck of a carrier.
You may also notice the burning fuel running down the deck under the aircraft; start fighting the fire at the cockpit and work aft, allowing the fire crews to both A: increase the pilot's survival chances and B: extinguish the fire from it's furthest extent and work back to its source. And ultimately, if the fire crew is "out of position" for an optimal fire-fighting solution, better to get hoses on the fire as soon as you can and start combating the blaze rather than letting it burn while you try for a better position.