I meant for the AG weight settings. As far as I could tell, the only check on that was whatever the kid manning the gear read back to the guy in the tower. Are there any other checks? I don't claim to be an expert, just sayin' what I saw.
There are 3 AB types that sit behind the Air Boss. 1 is a white shirt aft spotter who verifies a/c type and location. Case 1: type a/c at the initial, and as it comes through the 90, a/c type and gear/hook setting. Case 3: Light configuration (hence a/c type) and gear config. The 2 green shirts behind the Boss do the following: One guy sets the lens according to a/c type and the other guy (gear pri fly operator) runs the arresting gear computer system. At least 6 people and the LSOs themselves verify what type a/c is next to land: the Arresting Gear Officer (AGO), the arresting gear deck edge operator (tells AGO the gear is set to the correct weight, verifies the engine is ready to arrest a/c, and retracts the wire after it's clear of the a/c). LSO spotter (white shirt who's on sound powered phones) on the LSO platform, the aft lookout, the gear prifly operator and the Boss himself.
The computer already has the single weight settings for each a/c. Once the operator pushes the correct a/c in, the computer sets all 4 arresting gear engines below decks to the correct setting. Each engine has an operator who verifies the engine is good to go and is set (also known as "battery"). They all report on soundpowered phones to the gear deck edge operator and the prifly operator the engine is set. The gear prifly operator looks left to see the lens is set and calls out to the Boss "Gear/Lens set 440 Rhino Battery" and will repeat this until the Boss repeats it back to him. The Boss also has a screen over his head that indicates the gear weight setting, lens is set, engine is in battery and if the deck is clear to land a/c. The screen also indicates whether MOVLAS is being used, etc.
Sorry for the long answer, but as an educational point, I don't think most folks know how many people are involved in making sure things are set right and how much double checking is done to make sure it's safe to recover a/c aboard (or launch).
wrong weight setting for the arresting gear's not as bad as a cold cat, but still not something you'd want to get fucked up, right?
There is really zero room for error in launching or recovery. A wrong weight setting on recovery most likely (IMO) would cause equipment damage, but the possibility is there for disaster for the aircrew/deck crew/below deck crew. I haven't heard of a cold cat shot in many many years. My worse nightmare as a shooter was if the holdback bar released prematurely while in tension. Thankfully that's also a rare occurrence and I walked away bootless from my tour.