There was NO reason the plot had to call for losing the front gear on takeoff. An impact that hard would have likely caused the plane to crash anyway. The Iranian F-14s likely don't have working tailhooks as they had no aircraft carriers, so this one doesn't need one either, so THAT is all they needed to land the thing with a barrier. They DID in real life put the San Diego museum's F-14 onto a real aircraft carrier flight deck, so a complete airplane sitting there would make for an even better ending