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Photo: AFP
IDF fighter jets
Photo: AFP

Powered parachute approaches IDF plane

IDF reports: a motorized parachute infiltrates the airspace of an IDF base in the center of the country and comes dangerously close to a fighter jet; No injuries reported.

A powered parachute penetrated the airspace of an IDF base in the center of Israel and approached a fighter jet Wednesday, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit reported on Friday. 

 

 

No injuries were reported.

 

"The IDF will work alongside Israel Air Force Authority to eliminate the safety risk of flying in violation of the law and airspace regulations, as stated in Israel's Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP)," the IDF Spokesperson's Unit commented.


A powered parachute  (Photo: Yuval Hen)
A powered parachute (Photo: Yuval Hen)

"The IDF urges anyone using Israeli airspace to do so according to airspace regulations in order to avoid endangering lives and damaging military and civilian aircraft, " the IDF Spokesperson's Unit added.

 

After receiving updates about the serious incident, the chief investigator at the Ministry of Transport and Road Safety is set to publish in a few days a preliminary report, in order to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents.

 

Powered parachutes approaching planes is a familiar problem that is well known to the chief investigator. One of the most serious events in recent years occurred in September 2017, when a motorized parachute approached a small aircraft near Tira, an Arab city in the Central District of the country.

 

 (Photo: Yuval Hen)
(Photo: Yuval Hen)

At the time, the investigation revealed that a flying instructor in a Sky Airline plane spotted a powered parachute passing by at 800 feet from a distance of 100 meters. The pilot turned quickly to the left to avoid a possible blast.

 

According to the report compiled by the chief investigator at the time, Yitzhak Raz, "in some cases, light aircraft pilots identified the motorized parachutes early and reported them to tower inspectors while avoiding the approaching parachute.

 

"However, in other cases, the pilots noticed the approaching parachutes relatively late, and so they had to fly dangerously close to these parachutes in order to pass through," he added.

 

"These events can turn into more serious events and therefore the public should avoid penetrating flight zones or control areas without prior airspace coordination…veteran pilots are concerned about the scale of these events," Raz concluded.

 

 

In recent years a number of incidents were reported in which multirotor drone delayed civilian flights. For example, last December, a multirotor drone entered the air space of Ben-Gurion Airport causing a 15 minutes' delay in civilian flights.

 

Israel Airports Authority said at the time that immediately after the drone was spotted, police and security forces searched for its operator and a notice was sent to the chief investigator and the Civil Aviation Authority.

 

A month prior, the State Comptroller's report on "The National Preparedness for Defense against the Threat of Drones" was published. The report listed a serious of flaws, including the lack of licensing regulations, lack of a supervising body, and the army's dawdling approach.

 


פרסום ראשון: 10.12.18, 17:23
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