The two perished in the swallow plane crash near Mishmar Hanegev • IDF Spokesman: "Severe and serious incident, do not know if it was a human error or a technical malfunction" • The Air Force commander will enter a special hearing in the afternoon • All training and training flights were stopped • , Elbit, interrogate
The dead in the plane crash today (Tuesday) near the Negev Guard are a flight instructor and a cadet in a pilot course, IDF Spokesman Brigadier General Hedi Zilberman said today.
The disaster of the crash in the Negev: the scene a few minutes after the incident // Photo: People of Silence
The two were killed in a "swallow" plane crash.
According to an IDF spokesman, "At around 11:35, a swallow-type plane of the flight school crashed in an open area near Kibbutz Mishmar Hanegev.
This is a training flight as part of the training of a pilot course.
"In the crash, the flight instructor was killed, a reservist who had recently been released and at the same time served as a quartet leader in the F16 squadron.
The two performed the flight as part of the preparation phase, "Check 15", in which the pilots' abilities in the air are tested.
The four-week phase includes 15 training flights on Swallow, a two-seater aircraft that was absorbed into the Air Force in 2002 and replaced the Tzukit.
The flight route opens at the base of the courtyards and from there is usually real to the east and back.
The crash site is very close to the flight path of the pilot course trainees.
"There was no unusual practice here," said Brigadier General Zilberman. "This is a routine and normal flight pattern, in good weather."
Troops from Unit 669, MDA and the Fire and Rescue Service were rushed to the scene of the crash, headed by the commander of Unit 669. "This is a difficult and serious incident," said an IDF spokesman.
"All Air Force aircraft are fit to fly and maintained on a regular basis, and we make sure that every aircraft that flies undergoes tests. We do not now know what happened there, and whether it was a human error or a technical matter. The matter is under investigation. There is no expert investigation yet."
He added: "To the best of our knowledge, at this stage there was no dialogue between the Mets and the tower. The weather conditions were good. The 'Swallow' is being maintained by Elbit, which will be under investigation."
Brigadier General Zilberman later stated that the Air Force commander had convened all parties involved in the incident, and it was decided to stop the training and training flights from today at 16:00 until further notice. The Air Force commander also decided to appoint a team of experts under Colonel Command to investigate the incident. "The operational activity of the Air Force and the IDF as a series," the IDF Spokesman clarified.
Brigadier General Zilberman later clarified that "in the IDF and the Air Force" lessons will continue to be learned. Any safety incident is a difficult event that we are fully investigating. The flight profession involves risk and complexity. The cadets at the flight school. "
After the crash, firefighters from the Be'er Sheva and Rahat stations arrived at the scene and put out the fire.
Rabbi Reshef Arik Elimelech, who was at the scene of the accident, said: "We received a report of a helicopter crash in the area of Nahal Gerar and launched several fire crews. We saw a light helicopter on the ground when it was burning. Unfortunately, there were already two dead. .
Chen Vermus, deputy director of the MDA Paramedics School, and Rafi Sheva, an MDA paramedic who arrived at the scene, said: "We received a call for a light aircraft that crashed in the fields. We were launched from a Yemen field. Our helicopter was stationed not far away. "From above the rubble. The fire brigade was already there and started putting out the fire."
