Small civilian airplane accidentally lands at Israeli Air Force base
In unusual incident, light aircraft with two passengers mistakenly touches down at northern airbase, with military on high alert due to border tensions
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In an unusual incident, a small civilian airplane landed at an Israeli Air Force base on Friday, apparently by mistake.
The military said the plane had touched down at a base in northern Israel without being cleared to do so.
“Crews from the base were rushed to the landing area and police were called in to question the civilians who were on the plane,” the Israeli Defense Forces said in a statement.
A preliminary investigation found that the flight had been planned in advance and monitored by air traffic control units.
“The plane was flown by a licensed Israeli pilot who was supposed to land at a nearby airstrip, and accidentally landed on the base’s territory,” according to the preliminary investigation, the IDF said.
The incident will be more thoroughly investigated, the statement said.
Hebrew media said the pilot was scheduled to land at the Megiddo Airfield, near Afula, but had touched down at the nearby Ramat David Airbase.
The plane was a Diamond DA40 light aircraft, a type of single-engine plane with four seats, and had taken off from Herzliyya with two passengers, Ynet reported.
The incident occurred while troops in northern Israel were on high alert.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz ordered the alert on Thursday amid setbacks in Israel’s effort to reach a maritime border deal with Lebanon. The Lebanese terror group Hezbollah has threatened to attack Israel over the deal.
The Times of Israel Community.