Sunday, July 7, 2013

Israel grounds warplanes after F16 crashes at sea


Credit: Reuters/Amir Cohen


Israeli Air Force F-16 war planes fly in formation over the Mediterranean Sea as part of celebrations for Israel's Independence Day, marking the 65th anniversary of the creation of the state, April 16, 2013.


The pilot and navigator on board managed to safely bail out of the U.S.-made plane and a military rescue unit came to evacuate them by helicopter, the spokesman and Israeli media reports said.


'An F16 combat aircraft crashed earlier today in the sea after the engine malfunctioned,' the spokesman said. He added that the air force commander had decided to 'ground all F16 and F15 planes until circumstances of the incident are reviewed.'


Israel's Channel 2 television said that the crash occurred off the coast of the Hamas Islamist-ruled Gaza Strip, a territory which also borders on Egypt.


(Writing by Allyn Fisher-Ilan)


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