Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
The rotor head of an IAF helicopter that crashed in Syria on April 27, 1974, is recovered by Israeli troops, in a handout photo issued on December 23, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
IDF troops operating in Syria found a part of an Israeli Air Force helicopter that crashed there more than 50 years ago.
The military says that during routine defensive operations in Syria, 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 114th Squadron, was involved in a deadly crash on April 27, 1974, after being dispatched to rescue paratroopers wounded in fighting in the Yom Kippur War.
During an attempt to land near an army post in Syria, the helicopter crashed, killing 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.
Illustrative: An IAF SA 321 Super Frelon, also known as Wasp, which later crashed in Syria on April 27, 1974. (Israel Defense Forces)
The military says 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.
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From the Liveblog of
Monday, December 23, 2024
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