A problem with the steering system appears to have been the cause of Monday night’s helicopter crash in which one officer was killed and another was seriously injured, a senior military officer says.
The malfunction, which presented itself just before 9:00 p.m., specifically affected the steering system of the Apache helicopter’s rear rotor. It occurred while the helicopter was taking part in a training exercise near the Ramon Air Base in southern Israel, the officer says, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The technical problem, and not human error, appears to be the cause of the crash, though a full investigation led by an Air Force colonel is still underway and is expected to take several months.
Approximately nine minutes after reporting the malfunction, as pilot Maj. (res.) David “Dudi” Zohar was bringing the Apache helicopter in for a landing, the aircraft crashed on the runway.
Zohar was killed. His co-pilot, a lieutenant on active duty, was critically wounded. They were the only two on board.
— Judah Ari Gross
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