The
1997 Israeli helicopter disaster, occurred on 4 February 1997, and left 73
IDFThe Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are Israel's military forces, comprising the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
soldiers dead after two
Sikorsky CH-53The CH-53 Sea Stallion is the most common name for the Sikorsky S-65 family of heavy-lift transport helicopters. Originally developed for use by the United States Marine Corps, it is also in service with Germany, Iran, Israel, Mexico, and as the MH-53 Pave Low with the United States Air Force...
helicopters collided over
She'ar YashuvShe'ar Yashuv is a workers' moshav in the Upper Galilee in the northeastern Hula Valley in northern Israel. It belongs to the Mevo'ot HaHermon Regional Council....
in northern
IsraelIsrael officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
. The helicopters were supposed to have crossed the border into Israel's "
security zoneThe Israeli Security Zone in southern Lebanon was a strip of territory of varying width, 5 to 25km, from the Israeli border and the occupied Golan Heights, occupied by Israeli forces from 1985 to 2000. Additional regions controlled by the South Lebanon Army are sometimes included under the term...
" in
LebanonLebanon , officially the Republic of Lebanon
[Republic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies...]
, but they were hovering while waiting for official clearance to go. Previously Israel had moved troops by ground, but this policy was changed as the threat of roadside bombs from Hizbullah increased.
The crash brought about widespread national grieving.
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The
1997 Israeli helicopter disaster, occurred on 4 February 1997, and left 73
IDFThe Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are Israel's military forces, comprising the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
soldiers dead after two
Sikorsky CH-53The CH-53 Sea Stallion is the most common name for the Sikorsky S-65 family of heavy-lift transport helicopters. Originally developed for use by the United States Marine Corps, it is also in service with Germany, Iran, Israel, Mexico, and as the MH-53 Pave Low with the United States Air Force...
helicopters collided over
She'ar YashuvShe'ar Yashuv is a workers' moshav in the Upper Galilee in the northeastern Hula Valley in northern Israel. It belongs to the Mevo'ot HaHermon Regional Council....
in northern
IsraelIsrael officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
. The helicopters were supposed to have crossed the border into Israel's "
security zoneThe Israeli Security Zone in southern Lebanon was a strip of territory of varying width, 5 to 25km, from the Israeli border and the occupied Golan Heights, occupied by Israeli forces from 1985 to 2000. Additional regions controlled by the South Lebanon Army are sometimes included under the term...
" in
LebanonLebanon , officially the Republic of Lebanon
[Republic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies...]
, but they were hovering while waiting for official clearance to go. Previously Israel had moved troops by ground, but this policy was changed as the threat of roadside bombs from Hizbullah increased.
The crash brought about widespread national grieving. Thursday, 6 February, was declared an official day of mourning, and Prime Minister
Benjamin NetanyahuBenjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu is the current Prime Minister of Israel. He previously held the same position from June 1996 to July 1999 and is currently the Chairman of the Likud Party....
and President
Ezer Weizman' was the seventh President of Israel, first elected in 1993 and re-elected in 1998. Before the presidency, Weizman was commander of the Israeli Air Force and Minister of Defense.-Biography:...
attended funerals and visited the surviving families. In addition, thousands of Israelis went to pray at the
Western WallThe Western Wall , sometimes referred to as the Wailing Wall or simply the Kotel , and as al-Buraaq Wall by Muslims, is an important Jewish religious site located in the Old City of Jerusalem...
, and assemblies were held at schools nationwide.
Because it was the deadliest air disaster in Israeli history, a commission headed by
David IvryDavid Ivry was the Israeli Ambassador to the United States from 2000 to 2002, and the ninth commander of the Israeli Air Force . In 1999, he was appointed first director of the Israeli National Security Council....
was set up to investigate the cause of the collision. The committee finished its investigation in mid-April of the same year. It had been unable to find the definite cause of the mid-air collision, noting that the pilots appeared in good health and that no external causes could be found.
External links
- "Two army helicopters crash in northern Israel killing 73 people", The Michigan Daily, Feb. 5, 1997. Accessed 11 June 2006.
- "Military helicopters collide in Israel, killing scores", CNN, Feb. 4, 1997. Accessed 11 June 2006.
- " The Israeli Helicopter Crash- Reactions in Lebanon", News at Lebanon, Feb. 5, 1997. Accessed 11 June 2006.