[Lower Deck]

Not a pilot and was not an airdale, but it has been my understanding that at the instant the wheels hit the deck, full power is applied to affect just this outcome should an arresting cable fail.

It's really for if you miss the cable altogether then you have enough power to climb back into the air. When the aircraft catches the cable and it fails, as in this instance, usually the drag of the cable has slowed the airplane down so much that it isn't possible to remain airborne. This was an unusual case of equal parts good luck and an exceptional pilot.

[Roccus]

Thank you.
Been out for more than 50 years which is why I tried not to be authoritative in my post.

[tanknetter]

Plus the E-2 (and by extension the C-2) with its long straight wings is probably the only aircraft that could recover from a cable snapping like this.

I did notice that on its recovery climb out it looked like the landing gear had already been retracted. This was one of the tricks used by the Doolittle Raiders: retract the gear first. To both reduce drag and gain a few extra feet of margin.