Naval Flight Officer explains why the LSO hold the pickle over their head

Landing Signal Officers

Responsible for making instant judgments, Landing Signal Officers (LSOs) direct aircraft landing aboard ship, and often know more about what’s happening with an approaching aircraft than its pilot. The LSO can tell at a glance whether a plane’s approach is too high, too low, too fast or too slow, and despite advances in technology (examples being the Optical Landing Systems on display), the LSO still monitors and guides each landing and is responsible for calling wave-offs when an aircraft has entered a dangerous situation.

According to Wiki, from the late 1950s, carriers evolved from the original straight or axial-deck configuration into the angled flight deck, with an optical landing system (OLS) providing glide slope information to the pilot. As such, the system of using both the OLS and the LSO was developed.

Together with the OLS, the LSO provides input to the pilot via a radio handset (that looks like a telephone handset), advising of power requirements, position relative to glide path and centerline. The LSO also holds a “pickle” (a handheld switch box) that controls a combination of lights attached to the OLS to indicate “go around” using the bright red, flashing wave off lights. Additional signals, such as “cleared to land”, “add power”, or “divert” can be signaled using an upper row of green lights called “cut lights”, or a combination thereof.

Why the LSO holds the pickle switch over its head

Often, pictures of LSOs show them holding the pickle switch over their head.

Why is that?

Andy Burns, former US Navy Naval Flight Officer (NFO), explains why on Quora;

‘It’s a visual signal to Tower and the Arresting Gear Officer that the LSO is requesting a Clear Deck call. Or if you want to look at it another way, it’s indicating to Tower that as far as Paddles knows, the deck is still Foul. They hold up the pickle until they either receive a Clear Deck call from the LSO platform phone talker, or they activate the Waveoff lights.

‘A lot of flight deck procedures are in place to ensure that all parties involved understand any given situation the same way, with just a glance. If what I was always told is correct, the practice of holding the Pickle up until they get a Clear Deck call stemmed from a horrific flight deck mishap in the 1980s. Paddles believed the deck was clear when in fact an S-3 Viking that had just landed was not yet out of the Landing Area (LA). The following EA-6B Prowler was waved off but too late, struck the S-3’s vertical stabilizer, and multiple deaths of the aircrew and flight deck crew resulted.

Manual

‘From the LSO Manual. “With an aircraft crossing the ship’s wake during Case I/II operations, or with an aircraft approaching 3/4 nm during Case III operations, the controlling and backup LSOs shall each raise their pickle switch arm above their heads as a visual signal to request a clear deck signal from the Arresting Gear Officer (AGO) (except for MOVLAS, when the backup LSO is the only LSO to raise his arm). The LSOs shall lower their arms only upon receipt of a clear deck signal, or upon waving off the approaching aircraft for a foul deck.”’

Photo credit: PH2 Tracy Lee Didas and Photographer’s Mate 3rd Class Christian Weibull / U.S. Navy