IAF helicopter (illustrative)
IAF helicopter (illustrative)Israel News Photo: (courtesy of IDF)

An Israel Air Force helicopter crashed and burned in the Lower Galilee near Kibbutz Genigar only 10 minutes into a routine training flight that set out from the Ramat David base.  The crash occurred early Wednesday evening.

 

Initial reports indicated that two Cobra helicopters were flying side by side when the propeller on one of the aircraft apparently detached from the body, sending it diving to the ground.  The second pilot attempted to land his helicopter as close to the crash site as possible in order to determine what had gone wrong, but was unable to approach due to the heat of the flames that engulfed the aircraft.

 

Rescue personnel were also prevented from reaching the scene for a short time due to the conflagration.

 

The fallen helicopter went up in flames after explosives that were on board the aircraft ignited. Police sappers who raced to the scene worked on the remaining ammunition and successfully defused the remaining explosives after they were able to get close enough to get access to the aircraft.

 

The cause of the crash is under investigation.