Final IDF report: November training plane crash caused by low altitude stall

A final report on the fatal crash of a military training plane in November finds the aircraft stalled during a low altitude maneuver, causing the pilots to lose control. The stall was not the result of a technical failure but rather a set of circumstances that the pilots had not trained for.

Investigators say the circumstances in the moments before the crash, specifically at such a low altitude, had not been experienced before, without providing details. The plane’s manufacturer and other operators around the world were also unfamiliar with the danger of a stall existing in such circumstances.

The November 24 crash killed Cpl. Lihu Ben-Bassa, 19, and his trainer, Maj. (res.) Itay Zayden, 42, when the small “Snunit” plane hit the ground near Kibbutz Mishmar Hanegev in southern Israel.