IDF troops in Syria find part of Israeli helicopter that crashed in 1974
Rotor head of Super Frelon chopper involved in Yom Kippur War crash recovered, 50 years after all six crew members were killed during rescue mission
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
Israeli troops operating in southern Syria found a part of an Israeli Air Force helicopter that crashed there more than 50 years ago, the military said Monday.
The Israel Defense Forces said that during routine defensive operations inside Syria in recent days, troops of the IAF’s Shaldag unit and the 810th Mountains Regional Brigade located the rotor head of the SA 321 Super Frelon, known in the IAF as “Wasp.”
The chopper, number 17 in the IAF’s former 114th Squadron, was involved in a deadly crash on April 27, 1974, after being dispatched to rescue paratroopers killed and wounded in fighting in the Yom Kippur War.
Soldiers of the Paratroopers Brigade’s 202nd Battalion had been readying to swap out other forces stationed atop the Syrian side of Mount Hermon when a Syrian artillery shell struck them.
Eight paratroopers were killed and others were wounded.
The Super Frelon with medics from the IAF’s elite helicopter-borne search and rescue Unit 669 was dispatched to evacuate the casualties, who had been driven to a makeshift helipad in the area.
The chopper had flown lower than usual due to the fear of being hit by Syrian missiles. During the approach to land, the helicopter faced a tailwind that shook it, causing it to plunge toward the ground, according to an IAF probe of the incident.
Turned on its side, the helicopter’s main rotor hit a rock on the side of the mountain, instantly causing the crash. Explosives stored on the aircraft exploded.
Following the fiery crash, parts of the helicopter fell into a valley.
The crash killed all six crew members — pilots Maj. Golan Levy and Lt. Amir Amit; flight mechanics Staff Sgt. Yaakov Bernheim and Yaakov Rolle; and Unit 669 doctor Maj. Dr. Ahikam Avni Feinstein and Unit 669 medic Sgt. Meir Rosenstein. Their bodies were brought back to Israel for burial at the time.
The military said Unit 669 and the IAF’s missing persons unit came to the site in recent days to recover the rotor head and search for personal or other items left in the area that could be meaningful for their families.
The IDF has deployed forces to a buffer zone between Israel and Syria and some areas slightly beyond it as a defensive measure following the collapse of the Assad regime earlier this month.
