Dangerous error: General's chopper lands in stadium
Misunderstanding causes embarrassing mistake, as Northern Command chief lands in soccer stadium
IDF Northern Command Chief Yair Golan's chopper mistakenly landed in a soccer stadium several days ago, as result of an embarrassing coordination mishap between the landing crew and helicopter pilots.
The story was exposed by journalist Yossi Yehoshua in Yedioth Ahronoth Wednesday. The IDF has launched a probe into the incident.
Watch Yair Golan's chopper lands in soccer stadium
Instead of completing their weekly soccer practice, members of a children and youth team were forced to evacuate the pitch, in order to allow the Black Hawk chopper to land. Major General Golan, who was heading to a bereaved families' event in the city of Hadera, was no less surprised to find himself in the stadium.
As it turned out, an old and inactive soccer stadium in Hadera is being used as a landing site for helicopters. However, the landing crew mistakenly arrived at the new stadium. The pilots did not hesitate to land at the site, despite seeing activity on the pitch.
The young soccer players quickly pulled out their cellular phones and photographed the landing. However, the infuriated Golan was unimpressed and demanded an explanation for the pilots' decision to land in the middle of a municipal stadium.
"This is a delusional incident," a senior military official said. "The Northern Command chief should not be landing in the middle of a soccer stadium…after all, it was no emergency or war."
An Air Force official said that the stadium is marked in maps as an emergency landing site, but that pilots were expected to use their judgment in such cases.
The IDF Spokesman's Office issued the following statement: "An error caused a landing at the wrong site. The incident is being debriefed and studied." The army stressed that the chopper only landed at the site after the landing crew made sure that no civilians remained in the area and that the helicopter could land safely.
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