Former Air Force Commander: "In-depth Investigation" • Eight F-16 aircraft were hit in a storm last week; Five of them have already returned to operations • A senior Air Force officer addressed the incident in the Hatzor flood: "We were wrong when we did not clear the planes, but the damage is small than we initially thought"

The recent rainfall not only caused casualties and damage on the municipal level, but also hit eight IDF Air 16 aircraft at Hatzor base, according to a statement issued by the IDF, which said water had penetrated into several underground dwellings and caused aircraft damage.

This flooding and the accompanying damage, although already in repair, raises the question of whether the system should not fail, because it is a temporary violation of the Air Force's readiness, or that beam failure and force majeure is a concept even the IDF and the Air Force With all its power, it can sometimes be hurt.

Documentation of damage at Hatzor base

"This is an event that should not have happened"

Brigadier General Avner Naveh, a former commander of the Air Force headquarters, says that such a failure should not have happened. "The Air Force base is not like Nahariya or Tel Aviv or any major municipal authority in any way, there are appropriate infrastructures and therefore such a failure should not have happened and should not happen. There is a failure here. I do not know the details but I know how the Air Force was conducted, and an event This should not happen unequivocally and a thorough investigation needs to be done here. "

Regarding the impact on the planes, Brigadier General Naveh says that "aircraft are built in such a way that they are resistant to rain and storms, an aircraft should also fly in very bad weather conditions and therefore even in the event of flooding, I estimate that most parts of the aircraft were not damaged at all. If a part is damaged then parts can easily be brought to it because the parts that are usually damaged are very small in the whole system. So beyond the point fix, there is no major damage here. "

A Day with the Fire Fighters Running from Event to Event // Reporter: Avi Cohen // Photo: Newsenders

"The IDF should have prepared for this option"

Reserve Major General Yitzhak Brick, former Commissioner of Military Admissions, and who authored a report on military competence for war, believes that unlike a civilian system, the incident at Hatzor Air Force Base should not have happened. "First, I do not know exactly what was and should be done in order to investigate To learn lessons for the future. But it is clear that the IDF is not a large and cumbersome civilian system, and therefore, if such a possibility had been anticipated, it would have to be prepared in advance and prevent this flooding. That is what the IDF needed. Therefore, it is very important to do a depth check here and see what they knew in advance, but surely if there was a possibility of flooding or a forecast for rain in an unusual amount it is a failure that was not done for it, "he states.

"The IDF does not like outside instructions"

Aviation expert Aaron Lapidot regrets the mishap and says it is a classic expression of the military's reluctance to listen to outside experts. "Seven years ago, the local council came to the IDF and requested that the infrastructure around the Hatzor Air Force base be regulated together. The council was prepared to pay 50 percent of the infrastructure repair costs in the area. But the IDF does not like advice from civilians, so they said 'yes yes' and did a cosmetic repair. So we came to the current reality and it is a pity that the IDF did not listen to civilian experts also they know the work. "

Lapidot emphasizes that despite the exceptional event, no disaster occurred. "However, it is not yet a dramatic injury, there is no injury to the soul either and aircraft are machines that can be repaired. It is a pity, of course, that this is a lot of money the Air Force does not have, but there is no real damage to the IDF's alert or damage to the country. I only regret not listening and working with the council at the time. In any case, the planes will be repaired and they will return to action. "

Documentation of damage at Hatzor base

"This is a supreme power only"

MK Matan Kahana of the New Right Party, a commander-in-chief of the Air Force based on Hatzor's air base, opposes his former position, saying: "From my examination with the officials in the field, the Hatzor was prepared for the best event there, made an hourly tour and also drove all the planes. From dangerous places. The JDCs were not in place for flooding, so in a game of damage to the Air Force's alert and aircraft transport the decision was to leave them inside.

MK Kahane emphasized that despite the preparations that took place at the base, there are forces of nature that are difficult to prepare for. "Review every hour and at five in the morning it was dry on the spot, a few minutes later reached 50 thousand cubic meters of water and this is not something you can prepare for, it is a time event For many years, therefore, despite all the preparations, everything collapsed in an instant, but it is a force of nature. I can tell you that in a squadron at the base of Ramat David, which, too, is expected to be flooded, the Air Force takes such a scenario very seriously and does not trust anyone but acts the best there is. Here was really a real force. "