Flight Operations

A lot of people probably don't realize a carrier has to be moving in order for a jet to take off. There has to be a certain amount of wind going across the flight deck to aid something as enormous as a jet in taking off. The flight deck must also be level, and that is achieved by filling tanks placed strategically on the bottom of the boat.
One time after flight operations, the tilt of the flight deck was a little too extreme, and one of our jets (with the pilot in it!) rolled across the flight deck and over the side. Fortunately, the jet's nose got caught in the catwalk below which prevented it from dropping 100 feet to the ocean. Once in the water the pilot would have not been able to get out and would have died.