Technical failure blamed for deadly helicopter crash

The helicopter crash that killed two reserve air force pilots last week was caused by a technical failure, the IDF Spokesman’s Office announced Thursday.

Lt. Col. Noam Ron, 49, from Oranit and Major Erez Flexer, 31, from Haifa were killed on March 12 when the Cobra helicopter gunship they were piloting crashed near Revadim, in southern Israel.

The veteran pilots were on a routine flight exercise and didn’t radio in any news of technical difficulties before the crash.

The IDF investigative team released its preliminary results on Thursday to Israeli Air Force chief Brig. Gen. Amir Eshel. The IDF spokesperson said that the investigators will continue working “until the final report is finished.”

The pilots reported that they had “six minutes to landing,” before losing touch with command headquarters at approximately 1:00 a.m. on the day of the accident.

Ron lived with his wife and three daughters. His youngest daughter was named after his brother, Eyal, a helicopter pilot, who was killed 16 years ago in an accident during a trip to the Judean Desert.

Flexer studied physics at Tel Aviv University and was set to begin working on his doctorate. He is survived by his wife and 4-month-old baby, Uri.