 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Jerusalem (AFP) July 27, 2010 Israeli investigators were on Tuesday heading to the site of a helicopter crash in mountainous central Romania in which six Israeli airmen and a Romanian national are thought to have died. The helicopter slammed into the side of a mountain and fell into a valley on late on Monday after becoming separated from its wingman in heavy fog during what an Israeli general described as "routine training" in search and rescue. The military said it had sent a search and rescue team, crash investigators, medics and rabbis to the scene of the crash, but that they had not yet reached the wreckage or recovered any of the bodies. "We unfortunately have reason to believe that all seven crew (members) are dead, but at this time no bodies have been recovered," Israeli Brigadier General Relik Shafir told reporters in Jerusalem. "I think the probability of technical failure is very low," he said, adding that it was "most probably some kind of error or misjudgement that caused the accident." He insisted, however, that the military had only begun its investigation. Witnesses quoted by a Romanian television channel said they had seen three helicopters flying above the mountainous region around the city of Brasov. "Smoke was coming out of one of the helicopters which started losing altitude," one of the witnesses was quoted as saying. On July 18, the Romanian defence ministry announced an Israeli CH-53 helicopter participating in the same exercise had made a crash landing after "sensing a failure aboard" but then returned safely to its base. The helicopter, a Sikorsky CH-53, is used primarily for transport and search and rescue missions. Israel routinely carries out joint exercises with allied air forces in order to train its pilots to operate in unfamiliar terrain, Shafir said.
Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links The latest in Military Technology for the 21st century at SpaceWar.com
The Multiple Roles Of C-17 Globemaster IIIFarnborough, UK (SPX) Jul 27, 2010 The C-17 III Globemaster here serves as the visual centerpiece of the United States' static display coral at the 2010 Farnborough International Air Show here. The eight crew members accompanying the newest cargo aircraft to the international event are from the 301st Airlift Squadron, a Air Force Reserve at Travis Air Force Base, Calif. The crew is made up of four pilots, three load masters ... read more |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2010 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook
