A helicopter carrying the IDF Chief of Staff, Aviv Kochavi, was forced to make an emergency landing on Sunday afternoon at an army base in the center of the country, after a minor malfunction was detected in the helicopter’s engine. No injuries or damage were reported, and the incident is under investigation.
After the helicopter made its unscheduled landing, the Chief of Staff continued his journey via land vehicle.
This incident was minor in comparison to what happened a few months ago, in July of this year. Then, too, the Chief of Staff was flying in a helicopter on a routine trip from Jerusalem, and both engines stalled mid-air.
According to at least one account, the helicopter’s pilots were responsible for the gravity of the incident. At first, only one of the engines malfunctioned, but, instead of following standard procedure in such cases, the pilots made an error and turned off the second engine too. The helicopter began to plummet, reaching an altitude of just 100 feet (30 meters) above ground. Just in time, the pilots rectified their mistake and managed to stabilize the craft.
The pilots then decided to continue the flight with just one functional engine until they reached the Tel Nof army base – around ten minutes’ flight time from the Knesset.