A-7 Corsair II is waived off of after missing a carrier landing on the USS Oriskany.

When you land on a carrier you set the plane onto its glide slope and hold it there all the way to the deck.  When you land an airplane on a long runway, you set the plane into its Glideslope then just before you hit the ground, you start pulling the nose up, level the plane out just above the runway, then let it settle to the ground to a real nice smooth, each landing. 

I was reading about how they test a new aircraft to see if it is acceptable for carrier operation.  They lift the plane up thirty feet, then drop it on it's landing gear.   This means that the plane drops off the equivalent of the roof of a three story building.  But, that's not all, to be certified for carrier operation, the plane must be dropped 100 times all with zero damage.  If you have read the specs of this aircraft on the previous pages you will notice that the plane weight about the same weight as an empty Mack Truck.  Take your semi out and drop it from a thirty foot building an see if it has any damage.