IAF Pilot Killed in Helicopter Crash

Major (res.) Dudi Zohar (43), an IAF Apache helicopter pilot from Haifa, was killed on Monday night when his helicopter crashed.

Zohar and his co-pilot, who was seriously injured, were returning to the Ramon Air Base in Israel's south following a routine training exercise.

Zohar reported to the tower that there was a technical malfunction with the helicopter, and shortly after that the helicopter crashed.

The IAF is investigating the cause of the malfunction and have temporarily grounded the helicopter fleet. Representatives from Boeing are also arriving to inspect the helicopters.

In June, cracks were noticed in the tail rotors of 2 helicopters, which also grounded the fleet as the helicopters were checked.

A preliminary investigation found no connection between the June rotor incident and Monday's crash.

On social media the false rumor last night was that Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot was killed in the crash.