Air Force still in the dark on cause of training flight’s fatal crash

The Israeli Air Force’s investigation into last week’s deadly plane crash has so far failed to determine what caused the aircraft to go down, the military says.

In light of the uncertainty, Air Force chief Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin has decided to keep the fleet of planes — Grob G 120 “Snunit” trainers — grounded until further notice. All other training aircraft have already returned to service.

Last Tuesday, a “Snunit” carrying a pilot’s course cadet, Cpl. Lihu Ben-Bassa, 19, and his trainer, Maj. (res.) Itay Zayden, 42, crashed near Kibbutz Mishmar Hanegev in southern Israel, killing both of them.

Norkin immediately ordered a full investigation of the apparent accident. On Tuesday, the team presented an interim report to Norkin, which contained few definitive answers.

“At this time it is not yet possible to determine the cause of the crash,” the Israel Defense Forces says.

There were no clear indications of mechanical problems, nor were there signs that Ben-Bassa or Zayden had tried to bail out of the plane. The plane’s internal communications system, which would show what Ben-Bassa and Zayden had been saying to each other before the crash, was badly damaged by the impact.

The probe had ruled out the possibility that a bird had struck the aircraft and caused the crash, according to the IDF.

— Judah Ari Gross