Just going back briefly to the blocked deck scenario mentioned earlier...we never pushed dead aircraft over the side. In such cases, the flight deck crane, known as Jumbo, would move ponderously forward, pick up the offending article (most usually a Vixen with a collapsed nosewheel), and park it in a convenient spot, after which the land-on proceeded normally. It would take about ten minutes. Anyhow, we very, very rarely flew at night without a shore diversion available, and by day we'd have a tanker at standby if there wasn't one.
Last edited by Schiller; 16th Aug 2012 at 13:36.