Two observations.
(1) Not the first time an arresting cable ever snapped. Not the first time a jet was lost due to that happening.
(2) Good job on knowing his procedures, he executed the Silk One departure and the SAR crew picked him up.
So the Russians are "learning by doing" when it comes to carrier ops. Welcome to the club, it's not for the faint of heart.
As to the Journalistic coverage ...
The Russian Ministry of Defence said the arrester wire, which is designed to catch the aircraft as it comes into land on the carrier's short runway, snapped.
Terminology wise, that's not a
runway, it's a
flight deck. (I suppose it serves the same purpose as a runway ...)
