Air Force commander orders probe into costly flood damage to fighter jets

Israeli Air Force commander Amikam Norkin calls for a full investigation into the failure to move eight fighter jets to safety during a flood last week, causing costly damage to the aircraft.

“[Norkin] said the event was unbecoming of the [air] force and believed it was important to investigation, learn lessons and implement them in order to prevent similar events in the future,” the military says in a statement.

Last week, as massive rainstorms battered the country, the banks of a stream near the Hatzor air base in southern Israel flooded, sending large amounts of water — some 50 million liters (13 million gallons) — into the base in the span of half an hour.

Though the military was aware of the expected rainfall and had moved other aircraft to safety, a number of F-16 fighter jets at Hatzor were kept in underground hangars, which flooded, causing various degrees of damage to eight planes, with repair costs estimated in the millions.

A senior IAF officer said earlier this week that all eight would return to service within the next few days.

Norkin has called for a full investigation of the failure to move the F-16s to safety ahead of the storm.

— Judah Ari Gross