Condition improves of pilot injured in fatal chopper crash
Helicopter crewman responds, moves arms and legs, days after incident that killed other serviceman
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Doctors said Wednesday there was an improvement in the condition of an Israeli Air Force co-pilot who was seriously injured earlier this week in a crash that killed his fellow crew member.
Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba said the pilot, who has not been named in media reports, had responded for the first time since the accident and had moved his arms and legs.
The pilot is still in a serious, but stable condition, the hospital said.
Pilot Maj. David “Dudi” Zohar, a 43-year-old Haifa resident who served in the military reserves, was killed in the Monday training accident in southern Israel.
Shortly before 9:00 p.m., Zohar reported that the Apache attack helicopter was experiencing trouble during a flight in the Ramon Air Base in the Negev Desert.
A few minutes after reporting the issue, as the helicopter was coming in for a landing, it crashed on the runway. It was flying relatively low at the time of the crash, an army spokesperson said, below the level of the flight tower.
The major and lieutenant were members of the air force’s 190th Squadron, also known as the Magic Touch Squadron, which flies the Boeing Apache, specifically the AH-64A Peten (Cobra) model.
A senior military officer said Tuesday that a technical problem with the tail rotor, not human error, appeared to be the cause of the crash. However, she noted that a full investigation of the accident was still being conducted and would likely take months to be completed.
On Monday night, IAF chief Maj. Gen. Amir Eshel appointed an air force colonel to investigate the crash, an army spokesperson said.
Following the crash, Eshel grounded the entire Apache fleet, the army said. Israel has two squadrons of Apaches that fly out of the Ramon Air Base.
This decision marks the second time this year that the air force commander barred the attack helicopters from flying in light of technical problems.
In June, he also grounded the entire fleet of Apaches after a crack was found in the rear rotor of one of the helicopters.
Last month, the helicopters were cleared to fly. The Monday night flight was part of the army’s process of gradually returning the helicopters to full service, the army spokesperson said.
The Times of Israel Community.