Yas'ur helicopter makes emergency landing in West Bank
No injuries were reported
By ANNA AHRONHEIMAn IAF Yasur helicopter, often used in search-and-rescue missions(photo credit: OREN ROZEN / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)
Two weeks after the Israeli Air Force’s fleet of Yas’ur transport helicopters were cleared to return to operational duty, another Yas’ur has made an emergency landing in the West Bank.There were 11 soldiers aboard the helicopter but there were no injuries reported in the emergency landing outside the settlement of Maale Amos near Tekoa.The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said that the cause of the emergency landing was a “small” technical failure and that a team of technicians had been sent to the scene to repair the fault.In September a Yas’ur helicopter was completely destroyed following a technical malfunction in it’s engine.The helicopter was one of three en route to a base in southern Israel for a training exercise and was flying at a height of 170meters when the third aircraft notified the pilots of the fire in the engine.The pilots carried out the emergency landing within a minute of the fire breaking out, landing outside the community of Beit Kama in the northern Negev desert. All 11 soldiers from the elite Shaldag commando unit and two pilots onboard the aircraft made it out unhurt.In mid-January IAF Commander Maj.-Gen. Amikam Norkin decided that despite the investigation into the incident not completed, the fleet would return to the skies after extensive maintenance and inspection work has been carried out on the platforms.“In the last month, a comprehensive and professional investigation, which has not yet been completed, is being carried out by a team of experts led by Col.A,” the military said, adding that Norkin “received the interim findings and the recommendations of the expert team formulated with the CH-53 helicopter manufacturer.The recommendations included the steps required for the safe redeployment of the Yas’ur.The interim findings of the investigation provided data about the possible causes of the accident and the ways to safely return the Yas’ur to flight, but have not yet conclusively determined the cause of the crash of the helicopter.First used by the IAF in 1969, the Yas’ur helicopters are the air force’s primary helicopter used regularly to transport soldiers and equipment. They have also taken part in a wide variety of missions, including secret operations as well as search and rescue missions, and are used regularly to transport soldiers and equipment.While the aging helicopters have been upgraded with 20 new electronic systems and missile defense, the IAF will still need to replace them by 2025 when they will be more than 50 years old.
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