Two IDF Sea Stallion helicopters en route to Israel landed safely in
The IDF emphasized that the choppers did not have to make an emergency landing but touched down after discovering a malfunction. “The military's authorities have contacted the choppers' crews in order to help them fix the technical malfunctions and resume the flight,” spokesmen said.
Nevertheless, emergency rescue teams were on hand.
The joint training exercises in
The helicopter that crashed into a rocky cliff last week in foggy weather carried four pilots, two mechanics and a Romanian observer.
An officer who was part of the body identification team that flew to
Radar equipment was not able to operate in the cloud. One of the helicopters flew straight up and out of the cloud and then saw he had no visual contact with the other aircraft. The pilot of the other helicopter either did not maneuver in time or simply continued forward.
The officer also said that his team was unable to remain at the site overnight because of the weather. They used ropes to climb the cliffs in order to retrieve the body parts, which later were identified as those of the soldiers.