1997 Israeli helicopter disaster
|
An IDF/AF CH-53 Yasur 2000 similar to the aircraft that collided | |
| Accident summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | February 4, 1997 |
| Summary | Mid-air collision |
| Site |
She'ar Yashuv in northern Israel Coordinates: 33°13′20″N 35°38′28″E / 33.22222°N 35.64111°E |
| Total fatalities | 73 |
| Total survivors | 0 |
| First aircraft | |
| Type | Sikorsky S-65C-3 Yas'ur 2000 |
| Operator | Israeli Air Force |
| Registration | 357 |
| Fatalities | 37 |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Second aircraft | |
| Type | Sikorsky S-65C-3 Yas'ur 2000 |
| Operator | Israeli Air Force |
| Registration | 903 |
| Fatalities | 36 |
| Survivors | 0 |
The 1997 Israeli helicopter disaster occurred on 4 February 1997, when two Israeli Air Force transport helicopters ferrying Israeli soldiers into Israel's "security zone" in southern Lebanon collided in mid-air, killing all 73 Israeli military personnel on board. The crash brought about widespread national mourning, and is considered a leading factor in its decision to withdraw from southern Lebanon in 2000.
Background
Following the 1982 Lebanon War, Israel had withdrawn to a "security zone" in southern Lebanon, where it faced an insurgency by Hezbollah and other Lebanese groups.
Israel had originally moved troops by ground, but this policy was changed as the threat of roadside bombs increased.[1] As a result, Israel increasingly began ferrying soldiers by air into southern Lebanon.
The crash
Two Sikorsky S-65C-3 Yas'ur 2000 helicopters, 357 and 903, were assigned on a mission to fly Israeli soldiers into southern Lebanon, originally scheduled for February 3, but pushed up a day due to bad weather conditions. On February 4, the weather conditions were still poor for flying due to fog, but in the afternoon visibility improved, and the mission was allowed to go forward.
The two helicopters took off from Tel Nof Airbase and flew to Rosh Pina Airport, from where they collected the troops. One helicopter, numbered 903, was designated to fly to the "Pumpkin" Outpost, east of Nabatiyeh, and had four crew and 32 passengers on board. The second helicopter, 357, was to fly to an Israeli position at Beaufort Castle, and had four crew and 33 passengers on board.
At 6:48 PM, after final approval was given and the soldiers had been briefed, both helicopters were cleared to take off. A minute after takeoff, the captain of helicopter 903 requested permission from air traffic control to cross the border into Lebanon, but permission was delayed, and the helicopters ended up hovering until 6:56 PM, when a controller confirmed that they had permission to cross. Three minutes later, the helicopters disappeared from radar.
The two helicopters collided over She'ar Yashuv in northern Israel. An Israeli investigation concluded that the rotor of helicopter 357 had struck the tail of helicopter 903. Helicopter 357 immediately crashed, while the crew of helicopter 903 attempted to take control of it, but failed, and it crashed as well.[2]
The crash brought about widespread national grieving. 6 February was declared an official day of mourning. Flags were flown at half-mast, restaurants and cinemas closed, the Knesset observed a minute of silence, and the names of the dead were read out at the beginning of every news bulletin on television and radio. Bodies were brought to the Reading Funeral Home in Tel Aviv for identification, and the funerals took place on February 5,[3] with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Ezer Weizman attending funerals and visited the grieving families. In addition, thousands of Israelis went to pray at the Western Wall and assemblies were held at schools nationwide.
Aftermath
Lt. Shai Abukasis, 22, of Mikhmoret
Sgt. Itai Adler, 19, of Ra'anana
St.-Sgt. Avraham Afner, 21, of Kiryat Tiv'on
St.-Sgt. Idan Alper, 20, of Bat Yam
St.-Sgt. Avner Alter, 20, of Ashdot Ya'akov Ihud
St.-Sgt. Yonatan Amadi, 20, of Ma'ale Adumim
Sgt. 1st Cl. Saguy Arazi, 22, of Kfar Yona
St.-Sgt. Ran Arman, 20, of Ra'anana
St.-Sgt. Emil Azoulai, 20, of Ashkelon
Lt. Alon Babayan, 21, of Givat Ze'ev
St.-Sgt. Rafi Balalti, 20, of Migdal HaEmek
1st Sgt. Hussein Bashir, 28, of Beit Zarzir
St.-Sgt. Nir Ben-Haim, 20, of Yifat
Lt. Kobi Ben-Shem, 20, of Ramat HaSharon
Lt. Saguy Berkovitz, 21, of Alfei Menashe
1st Sgt. Maj. Paul Bivas, 26, of Ashdod
Lt. Dotan Cohen, 21, of Hadera
Maj. Yirmi Cohen, 23, of Rosh Ha'ayin
St.-Sgt. Assaf Dahan, 19, of Jerusalem
Maj. (Res.) Yasys Eden, 44, of Ramat HaSharon
Lt. Gil Eisen, 21, pf Ness Ziona
Sgt. Noam Etzioni, 20, of Megadim
Sgt. Menachem Feldman, 20, of Haifa
Sgt. Moleto Gideon, 21, of Lod
Sgt. Avishai Gidron, 19, of Kiryat Motzkin
Sgt. 1st Cl. Tamir Glazer, 24, of Holon
St.-Sgt. Aviv Golan, 24, of Beit Yosef
Sgt. Tomer Goldberg, 19, of Dishon
St.-Sgt. Aviv Gonen, 20, of Petah Tikva
St.-Sgt. Micha Gottlieb, 20, of Tel Aviv
Maj. Ronen Halfon, 35, of Tiberias
Sgt. Alejandro Hoffman, 19, of Misgav Am
Maj. Yisrael Hushni, 34, of Tel Aviv
St.-Sgt. Shahar Kasus, 20, of Alfei Menashe
St.-Sgt. Michael Katz, 20, of Mitzpe Netofa
Sgt. Fadi Kazamel, 19, of Beit Jann
Sgt. Tomer Kedar, 21, of Negba
St.-Sgt. Tom Kita'in, 20, of Neve Shalom
St.-Sgt. Ilan Lanchitski, 20, of Haifa
Lt. Dvir Lanir, 21, of Moledet
Capt. Avishai Levy, 27, of Tel Aviv
St.-Sgt. Shilo Levy, 21, Karnei Shomron
St.-Sgt. Nadav Lishinski, 20, of Sde Avraham
Sgt. 1st Cl. Eitan Maman, 25, of Beersheba
Sgt. 1st Cl. Gal Meisels, 24, of Kiryat Ata
Sgt. Yaakov Melamed, 20, of Petah Tikva
Capt. Dr. Vadim Melnick, 34, of Safed
Sgt. Vladislav Michaelov, 22, Tel Aviv
Sgt. Idan Minker, 20, of Nir Yitzhak
St.-Sgt. Gilad Mishaiker, 20, of Jerusalem
St.-Sgt. Gilad Moshel, 20, of Tel Aviv
Lt.-Col. Moshe Mualem, 31, of Beersheba
St.-Sgt. Haran Eliezer Parnas, 20, Herzliya
Lt. Eren Hai Peretz, 21, of Deganya Alef
Sgt. Vitali Pesahov, 19, of Acre
Cpl. Shlomo Pizuati, 19, of Tiberias
Sgt. Gidon Posner, 22, of Tel Aviv
Capt. Dr. Vitaly Radinsky, 33, of Or Akiva
Sgt. 1st Cl. Kamal Rahal, 27, of Beit Zarzir
Sgt. Shahar Rosenberg, 19, of Ness Ziona
St.-Sgt. Assaf Rotenberg, 20, of Tel Aviv
Sgt. Moshe Saban, 19, of Hod HaSharon
Lt. Nir Schreibman, 20 of Kfar Saba
St.-Sgt. Itamar Shai, 20, of Jerusalem
St.-Sgt. Omer Shalit, 19, of Jerusalem
Sgt. Yiftach Shlapobersky, 20, Hod HaSharon
St.-Sgt. Gil Sharabi, 20, of Rehovot
St.-Sgt. Tsafrir Sharoni, 22, of Netanya
St.-Sgt. Tsafrir Shoval, 22, of Bar'am
Lt. Erez Shtark, 21, of Kiryat Ata
St.-Sgt. Assaf Siboni, 20, Nir Am
Sgt. Yaron Tsofiof, 20, of Tel Aviv
Sgt. Dani Zahavi, 19, of Haifa
A commission headed by David Ivry was set up to investigate the cause of the collision, the deadliest air disaster in Israeli history. The committee finished its investigation in mid-April of the same year.
The disaster sparked renewed debate about Israel's occupation of southern Lebanon. Later that year, the Four Mothers, an anti-war protest movement dedicated to pressing for an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, was founded. This event is seen as a catalyst for Israel's withdrawal from the security zone in Lebanon in 2000.
Memorial
A memorial to the 73 dead IDF soldiers was created near the crash site next to the cemetery of Kibbutz Dafna. It was inaugurated in 2008. The memorial consists of a number of elements, the most visible being 73 stones erected around a round pool to which water is directed through a channel. The 73 names are written on black blocks placed under the water of the pool. The monument was designed by architect Shlomit Shlomo, landscape architects Haim Cohen and Gilad Sharon, sculptor Rami Feldstein; sculptor Dani Caravan acted as an adviser for the project.[5][6][7]
See also
References
- Segal, Naomi. "Pilot error may be cause of horrific helicopter crash", Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 14 February 1997. Accessed 11 June 2006.
- Segal, Naomi. "Discipline recommended in copter crash that killed 73", Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 25 April 1997. Accessed 11 June 2006.
- ↑ Eisenberg, Laura Zittrain (September 1997). "Israel's Lebanon Policy". Middle East Review of International Affairs. 1 (3). Retrieved 2011-02-23.
- ↑ http://www.sky-high.co.il/134771/%D7%94%D7%AA%D7%A0%D7%92%D7%A9%D7%95%D7%AA-%D7%99%D7%A1%D7%A2%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%9D-357-%D7%95-906--%D7%90%D7%A1%D7%95%D7%9F-%D7%A9%D7%90%D7%A8-%D7%99%D7%A9%D7%95%D7%91-
- ↑ http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/israel-buries-helicopter-crash-dead-1277152.html
- ↑ http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/mfa-archive/1997/pages/soldiers%20killed%20in%20idf%20helicopter%20crash.aspx
- ↑ Rachel S. Harris and Ranen Omer-Sherman (editors) (2012). Narratives of Dissent: War in Contemporary Israeli Arts and Culture. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. pp. 49–55. ISBN 9780814338032. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
- ↑ http://www.israelandyou.com/helicopter-crash-memorial-israel/
- ↑ http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.539288
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1997 Israeli helicopter disaster monument. |
- "Military helicopters collide in Israel, killing scores", CNN, 4 February 1997. Accessed 11 June 2006.
- " The Israeli Helicopter Crash- Reactions in Lebanon", News at Lebanon, 5 February 1997. Accessed 11 June 2006.