As I said, I was turn qualified on A-7s, which VA-46 had transitioned to from the A-4 Skyhawks, but the concepts are exactly the same.
A wet start can lead to a hot start. I have experienced a wet start, but if you follow the proper procedures that can prevent a hot start, you shouldn't get one barring an unforeseen circumstance of a strange equipment malfunction. I was very careful (as are many young men who don't want to do the wrong thing) so I never had a hot start. The rules you follow when you start are pretty straightforward, as I recall. If you don't see the EGT (exhaust gas temp) begin to rise appropriately within a certain period of time, you stop and IIRC, use a huffer to blow the raw jet fuel out the tail.
Two things: Nobody plays around like that with a deliberate hot start on the flight deck of a carrier. Nobody. Plain and simple, no exceptions, even for the son and grandson of a famous admiral. Nobody does it, take it from me. I spent the better part of my four year tour doing flight deck duty from oil king to troubleshooter, and I never saw anyone, officer or enlisted, screwing around on the flight deck.
There is not, and never has been any tolerance whatsoever in that respect, and anyone who has ever spent time on a flight deck will tell you as much. I expect if any Freepers want to chime in and support that, they will.
There is too much chance, even following regulations for death, injury, and damage. It simply is not done.
As for McCain starting it by hot-dogging and doing deliberate hot starts, here is a schematic showing how the planes were spotted that day:
I was actually in VA-46 about eight years after this incident, and our planes were routinely spotted in those very spots, which is common for attack aircraft. They are spotted that way with the tailpipes pointing out over the water. Even in the event McCain did a deliberate hot start as some claim, how on earth is that going to do any damage to anyone or anything? It can't.
The truth is, he didn't. The plain truth is exactly as they state in the investigation.
As I said, we should (and rightfully do) heap abuse on McCain for the things he did do. We shouldn't be making up things that are so easy to disprove and would show us in a very negative aspect.