Aftermath of crash
Photo: Tsafrir Abayov
Air Force: Birds likely didn't cause plane accident
Officials believe lethal plane crash resulted from technical malfunction or human error
The probability of birds causing the lethal Air Force accident Wednesday
that claimed the lives of IDF soldiers is very law, a senior Air Force officer says.
Brigadier General Nimrod Sheffer said that no evidence indicating a collusion between birds and the plane was found. He noted that the investigation continues and said the two main directions being pursued are a technical malfunction and human error.
Hours after Wednesday's crash, Air Force Brigadier General Yohanan Locker said that no problems were reported with the plane before the accident and no indication of a malfunction was given.
Meanwhile, the Air Force has decided to ground the Tzukit planes, used for training, in the wake of the accident. An engineer who is closely familiar with the plane and a veteran reserves pilot told Ynet that the crash was not a result of technical malfunction and may have been caused by human error or a maintenance problem.
"We are talking about the ultimate training plane," the reserves pilot said. "It does not punish (the pilot) for mistakes, it's easy to control, and it's not dangerous. It's user-friendly because as opposed to other planes it has no computers. For that reason, it is used for training and for aerobatics. "
The Air Force considers the Tzukit a stable plane both at high and low speeds, the pilot added. "I don't think anyone is scared to board this plane even for a moment," he said.
