El Al airplane
El Al airplaneFlash 90

Two separate technical malfunctions hit two different Israeli airlines on Monday - one on a cross-continental flight by the international airline El Al, and the other a Cessna 208 Caravan single-propeller airplane from the domestic aviation company Ofek Jets.

In the first instance, an El Al flight with 150 passengers aboard was set to take off from Munich, Germany on its way to Ben Gurion International Airport when a malfunction was detected with the landing gear prior to take-off, reports Yedioth Aharonoth.

All passengers were asked to disembark, and after they had left the plane a thorough check was conducted.

Fortunately the investigation found the malfunction warning to be a false alarm, and the plane was declared ready for flight. After an hour-and-a-half delay, the plane is expected to take off for its destination in Israel.

In the second case of aviation discombobulation, Ofek Jets' small propeller airplane was forced to make an emergency landing at the domestic Sde Dov Airport located in northern Tel Aviv.

The landing was necessitated by a problem with the plane's wheels; the Cessna 208 sports a fixed-tricycle landing gear that apparently became unstable due to some unknown reason. 

As opposed to the large El Al plane, only two crew members were on the Ofek Jets aircraft. Magen David Adom (MDA) sent ambulances to the airport to be prepared in case they were needed during the emergency landing.

The aircraft was shortly thereafter rerouted to make its emergency landing in the nearby Ben Gurion Airport, where it is expected to touch down soon. MDA personnel are preparing at the site, and an emergency situation was declared.

Around 2:30 p.m. on Monday the plane safely made its emergency landing at Ben Gurion Airport.

El Al had a malfunction just this Saturday night, as a plane to Toronto was forced to make an emergency landing in Ben Gurion shortly after take-off due to one of its engines going out. The landing was conducted successfully, bringing all 194 passengers back to the terminal and lifting an emergency situation that had been declared on the airport.