[catbertz]

My memory tells me that pilots come in full throttle, which the cable is made to withstand, so that pilot can recover and go around if something like this happens. Someone can correct me if my memory is incorrect.

[Afterguard]

You are correct. Full throttle when the hook catches. Just in case. Throttles to idle when stopped

[Ronald_Magnus]

The pilot will give it full throttle after he contacts the deck in case, like you said, he misses a wire and has to go around and try again. Missing it to many times and running low on fuel, they will head to an airfield.

[USNBandit]

The whole approach is made at a specific AOA, so the speed varies a bit depending on weight (just a few knots). Upon touchdown the pilot applies full power (no afterburner, just basic engine) in case he misses the wires. There is no safety margin for having the cable fail.

The two pilots obviously did a great job flying away. A jet in that instance probably would have been lost because they have ejection seats. If that had happened to me I would hope my RIO would have punched us out.

[rlmorel]

Not technically correct. They do NOT come in full throttle. They are often at very, very low throttle settings, but as soon as they hit the deck and should catch the cable, they do slam it to full power just in case they miss the cable so they can get airborne again.