WarSclerotic

Israel Air Force jet crashes off Gaza coast, pilots safe – Diplomacy & Defense – Israel News | Haaretz Daily Newspaper.

Reason the two pilots abandoned the F16I outside Israeli waters still unclear; both are in stable condition in hospital.

An archive image of an Israeli F-16i warplane. Photo by AP

Two Israel Air Force fighter pilots abandoned their F16I fighter jet Sunday afternoon in a location beyond Israel’s territorial waters, opposited the Gaza coast.

The reasons the pilots left the plane were not immediately clear.

Both pilots were rescued from the water and taken for medical treatment to Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer. As far as is known, they are in stable condition.

The F16I (known as the Sufa, or storm in Hebrew), is the IAF’s most advanced fighter jet, and is considered particularly reliable.

In March, an IAF Cobra helicopter crashed during a routine training flight in the south, as it was making its way back to the Palmahim Air Base. Reserve pilots Lt.-Col. Noam Ron, 49, and Maj. Erez Flekser, 31, were killed in the incident. Air force investigators said a break in the tail rotor of the aircraft caused the accident.

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