Hangin' out.

Murphy's Law says that "if anything can go wrong, it will," but Naval Aviation personnel are trained for any challenge. On a standard mission while deployed on board Spruance (DD 963), an HSL-46 SH-60F Seahawk experienced a "hung MAD (magnetic anomaly detection) bird." The MAD vehicle is reeled out to about 180 feet below the helicopter during use, as in the photo at right. When the exercise was completed, the equipment could not be retracted due to a dead reel motor. Pilot LCdr. Sean Haley coordinated with the destroyer's crew to execute a hung MAD recovery before landing. With the helo hovering overhead, crew members grabbed the MAD bird and pulled in the cable hand over hand while Haley lowered the aircraft at a slow, controlled rate and set it down on the deck. The MAD bird and cable were recovered without incident, and the helo launched on an alert three hours later. Just another day at sea.