To the uninitiated these sailors may appear to be “bungling”, but as someone who has actually done their job I can assure you they were doing exactly what they should have been doing. One man was the wire checker and the other was the Topside Petty Officer, who is wearing a radio headset and is communication at all times.
Additionally, it is not unusual to have an aircraft continue an approach to a foul deck and wave it off at what appears to be the last moment.
This is just one dangerous aspect of a difficult job that thousands of guys just like them do on a daily basis. The flight deck is an inherently dangerous place, and not just anyone strolls across the landing area no matter what the media would have you believe.
ABECS (AW) USN, (Ret)
What does “foul deck” mean?