Channel 12 reports new details on yesterday’s deadly helicopter accident.
According to the network, the naval officer who survived the crash has told friends that during the flight the chopper’s left engine caught fire, leading the pilots to initiate an emergency landing in the sea.
As per emergency regulations, the naval officer opened the helicopter’s side doors, and when the helicopter came down for a landing and was near the water he jumped out and swam away. The chopper then hit the water and the pilots did not survive.
The network said there are preliminary assessments that the pilots were not killed by the crash, but rather that the aircraft’s cabin filled with smoke, causing the pilots to lose consciousness and then drown.
The network does not cite sources for this, and stresses that the investigation is ongoing.
An Israeli army flare illuminates the sky during searches after a military helicopter crashed off the coast of Haifa on the night of January 3, 2021. Inset: The two soldiers killed, Lt.-Col. Erez Sachyani (right) and Major Chen Fogel (Alon Nadav/Flash90; Israel Defense Forces)
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From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, January 4, 2022
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