Crash d'un Fouga Israelien en Octobre 2008

Je viens d'apprendre que tardivement qu'un autre Fouga s'est crashé cette année, le 22 Octobre 2008.

I have learnt so late that an another Fouga was crashed this year, on October 22, 2008.

Voici le résumé du crash / this is the crash summary (en anglais) :
IAF cadet, instructor killed in training flight in Negev
By Yuval Azoulay, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Israel news

An Israel Air Force cadet and a flight instructor were killed during a training flight on Wednesday when their plane crashed near the Halutza Dunes in the Negev.

The deceased were identified as Capt. Matan Asa, 24, of Yavneh and Cadet Carmi Ilan, 19, of Herzliya.

In response to the accident, the air force has grounded all its Zukit training planes until an investigation into the accident is completed, lest the cause turn out to be a technical problem with the planes. The investigating committee, appointed by IAF Commander Maj. Gen. Ido Nehoshtan, is also looking into various other possibilities, such as human error.
Advertisement
Nehoshtan also ordered all air force bases to begin the day on Thursday with a review of safety procedures.

During Wednesday's flight, the trainee pilots were supposed to fly their planes only a few dozen meters above the ground. The trainees had already been in the air for half an hour and were heading back to the Hatzerim base when the pilot of the lead plane suddenly saw one of the others crash and go up in flames.

He immediately notified the control tower, which sent out a helicopter-borne rescue crew. However, both of the plane's occupants were dead by the time the rescue crew arrived.

Air force sources said that there is no record of any distress call having been made from the plane before it crashed.

"The planes were flying in single file, one after the other, and when the leading plane turned in the direction of the base in preparation for landing, the pilot saw the crashed plane," said Col. Yochanan Locker, the air force chief of staff. "They did not hear any distress call over the communications network. Apparently, the whole incident occurred within a few seconds."

He noted that the crashed plane was still largely intact, which might make the investigation easier.

Air force sources said that Ilan, who began his pilot's course about 18 months ago, had already clocked many hours in the pilot's seat, and had been fully trained on all the plane's systems, though he was still in what is termed the "initial" phase of his training. Asa, the flight instructor, had until recently been a combat pilot flying F-16s, they noted.

The Zukit is the IAF's name for the French-made Fouga Magister. Israel initially acquired these planes in the late 1960s and used them as fighter jets, but in the early 1980s, they were removed from combat and converted into training planes. At that point, the IAF installed new engines and upgraded various other systems. Despite their age, the Zukits are considered reliable and easy to operate, and generations of Israeli pilots have been trained on them. However, the air force announced a few months ago that it intends to take them out of use at the start of next year. They will be replaced by American T-6 training planes.

The IAF is due to acquire its first five T-6 planes early next year, and another 10 by the end of 2009. One of the main differences between the Zukit and the T-6 is that the former has a jet engine while the latter has a piston engine.

Meanwhile, the IAF is also still investigating the crash of a Cobra assault helicopter about six weeks ago, and IAF sources said investigators are increasingly convinced that this accident was due to a technical failure. All of the IAF's Cobras have been grounded since the accident, in which two pilots were killed.

Un autre en français / Other in French
Crash d'un avion militaire au sud d'Israël : un pilote-instructeur et un soldat en formation ont trouvé la mort dans l'accident survenu mercredi près de la base militaire de Tzéelim. (Guysen.International.News)
Accident d'avion dans le Néguev : le soldat tué dans l'accident s'appelait Carmi Ilan (z'l). Il était âgé de 19 ans et venait de Herzliya. (Guysen.International.News)
Le commandant de l'armée de l'air, le général Ido Nehoushtan, a ordonné mercredi soir de clouer au sol toute la flotte des avions d'entraînement Fouga Magister jusqu'à la fin de l'enquête sur le crash qui s'est produit dans l'après-midi dans le Néguev.
Un élève-pilote de Tsahal et son commandant ont péri dans cet accident. (Guysen.International.News)
Accident d'avion dans le Néguev : le nom de la deuxième victime vient d'être autorisé à la publication. Il s'agit du lieutenant Matan Assa, 24 ans, de la localité de Yavné. (Guysen.International.News)
Les obsèques du lieutenant Matan Assa (z'l), le pilote tué mercredi dans l'accident d'avion, lors d'un vol d'entraînement au-dessus du Néguev, auront lieu demain jeudi à midi au cimetière militaire de Yavné. (Guysen.International.News).

Il existe aussi une vidéo :

Une vidéo du reportage sur le crash :
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1030533.html
La vidéo a disparue depuis le crash Je vais voir si je l'avais sauvegardée sur mon disque

Deux photos venant d'un forum israélien montrent que l'avion a subi un choc d'une grande force. Je partagerais les images dès que je les auraient retrouvées sur mon disque

Voici la version du crash après enquête :

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/air-force-cadet-instructor-killed-in-negev-training-flight-crash-1.255914
http://www.haaretz.com/news/iaf-cadet-instructor-killed-in-training-flight-in-negev-1.285423
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/bird-interference-unlikely-in-fatal-iaf-crash-1.255963

Voici une des photos que j'ai pu retrouver...