Hultgreen had no business flying an F-14, nor do many women. Oneof the main differences between men and women is that generally speaking, men can focus on a task at hand to the exclusion of everything else that is not directly related to that task. My father, having been a Maintenance Chief and a Leading Chief in an A-6 squadron (VA-115 Arabs) in the early 70's, knew how vital it was to have everything just right during flight operations. When landing an aircraft on a carrier, there is little if any room for error. It is not for the timid and faint of heart, and Hultgreen must have known she wasn't qualified to do the job and a PC Naval brass decided to risk her life, the lives of others, and valuable Naval assets rather than do the right thing.
Kara's problem was that she was a fine A-6 pilot. The A-6 is a simple airplane to fly, and it's systems are not as complex as in the Tomcat. Once you have a qualified Naval Aviator, it is very tough for one of them to swallow that they are not good enough for ANY airplane. It was very hard to find anyone good enough to handle the cat most of the time. The people who could were naturals, like me. Some people could anticipate what the engines were up to when they were unhappy about one thing or another, and some did not see a problem until they got bit in the ass.
On the day that Kara died, she ignored procedures, tried to correct in a way that all F-14 pilots know is wrong. You do not use heavy rudder at high angles and low speed. She had gone wide right in the groove, and was trying to correct back left for lineup. 19 out of 20 pilots would tell you that a TF-30 engine is likely to quit, because yawing to the left cut the airflow to the left engine. She should have unloaded and gone around, but she was in full-stupid mode at that time, and went full burner on the other engine before her nose was down, and the engine pitched her over into the drink. I am not trying to disrespect her in any way, but there is a lot going on in the Tomcat cockpit, and you must focus, or you will die.
There are a few women who can handle the Cat with style and grace and have earned their seats, but that is maybe 2 in 10 best guess. Hultgren had enough downs to lose her wings if not for some very lax attitudes, and some pressure from Congress to get women in those seats. If she had been grounded, she would have likely pulled another Tailhook, to the detriment of all of us. We lost enough good men because some woman wanted revenge over not getting the ride she wanted. I could say more, but that's already too much.