USS Bataan: Harrier Jet With Broken Landing Gear Uses A Chair To Land Vertically [Video]

On the USS Bataan, an AV-8B Harrier jet had to make an emergency landing on the deck because the front landing gear was broken. But the amazing part about this video is that the vertical landing was done using only a padded stool for support.

In a related report by The Inquisitr, the U.S. Navy ship the USS Bataan was moved near Libya in the Mediterranean Sea just in case U.S. personnel in the country need to be quickly evacuated:

“In December, the State Department warned US Citizens against all non-essential travel to Tripoli and against any travel outside the Libyan capital. The country has been in turmoil and has seen great amounts of violence since the uprising that overthrew long-time dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. [E]arlier this month, renegade general Khalifa Hifter started a bloody military offensive in the east to crush Islamist extremists. This has resulted in increased violence in the area and greater risks for Americans who are in Libya. The movement of the Bataan is an effort to have assistance in the region if it becomes necessary.”

According to The Aviationist, Harrier jet video was taken on June 7, 2014 when U.S. Marine Corps Capt. William Mahoney realized he had a gear malfunction shortly after taking off from the USS Bataan. Communicating with Land Signal Officers (LSO) in the control tower, the pilot approached the ship at about 300 feet so the LSO could see the landing gear.

They decided they would need to use a special padded stool where Mahoney would have to make a perfect vertical landing using only the guidance of the LSO and the ship’s lighting system. Pilots are never given any type of training for this weird type of situation so when Mahoney made his approach he could not even see the padded chair when making the landing.