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Israeli transport helicopter fleet grounded after accident

Ironically, just a few months earlier the IAF celebrated the 50-year operational anniversary of the Yasur helicopter.

By World Israel News Staff

The Israel Air Force (IAF) announced Tuesday evening that their entire fleet of Yasur transport helicopters has been grounded by order of the IDF Central Command following a fire that broke out in one of them earlier in the day, causing the crew to make an emergency landing in the northern Negev desert..

On Tuesday, the Yasur transport helicopter’s engine caught fire midflight. A second helicopter crew saw the fire and notified the pilots immediately.

“The unit was supposed to conduct military exercises in the south, the aircraft was part of a three-part wing,” said an unnamed air force officer following the incident as quoted by Ynet. “The crew realized something was wrong after they heard a tapping noise, followed by an emergency light. The fire spread quickly and burnt the craft completely.”

“The aircraft was 170 meters in the air during the malfunction and landed within a minute. The engine was rather new and there was no overweight combat equipment on it,” the spokesman added.

According to the reports, all 14 crew members aboard escaped unscathed, but the helicopter itself was unsalvageable.

Ironically, just a few months earlier the IAF celebrated the 50-year operational anniversary of the Yasur helicopter.

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“I recently flew in a three-helicopter formation. I looked at the other two helicopters and thought to myself, ‘who would believe that a 50-year-old aircraft would make it this far,'” said Lt. Col. Y, Commander of the 118th Night Riders Squadron at the time.

“This is incredibly significant. The Yasur has a long history behind it, and helicopter #037, one of the first to arrive back in 1969, is still in operation,” Lt. Col. Y added.

The Yasur chassis has remained the same throughout the years but has been retrofitted several times to keep up with technological advances.

The entire Yasur fleet had well passed the 10,000 flight hour limit designated by the manufacturer before Tuesday’s incident.

Israel is looking into both the Sikorsky CH-53K King Stallion by Lockheed Martin and Boeing’s Ch-47F Chinook helicopter as possible replacements for the Yasur, reports The Jerusalem Post.