Nine Years Since the Helicopters Disaster
Wednesday 25/01/2006 14:37
The time is seven pm, another routine flight for an operation in southern Lebanon, 65 combat soldiers from the Nahal, Engineering, and Armor Brigades, eight team members from Yasor helicopters were killed in one of the worst disasters that occurred in the IDF and especially in the Air Force. The investigation committee that was appointed to investigate circumstances of the horrific incident could not determine with certainty the direct reason of the cause of the disaster.
Two Air Force helicopters of the "Yasor" model crash on their way to a mission in southern Lebanon. One of the helicopters came down on a house in Kibbutz Shar Yeshuv that was used as a guest house and was empty at the time. The second helicopter crashed in an open area close to the graveyard in kibbutz Dafna. The helicopters that carried 65 soldiers from the Nahal, Armor and Engineering Brigades, and eight crew members of the Air Force, were loaded with weapons and ammunition. This lessened the chance of finding survivors in the horrible disaster.
The helicopter disaster was a determining factor in the consideration of Ehud Barak (the Prime Minister at the time) to exit southern Lebanon- the withdrawal from southern Lebanon was conducted in May of 2000.
The Yasor helicopter knew another disaster when it crashed on May 10th 1977 in the 54 disaster, where 54 soldiers were killed.
Today a monument stands in Kibbutz Dafna to commemorate the 73 that were killed in the disaster. The monument is in the shape of a huge tree whose leaves symbolize the names of those killed in the disaster.
The Yasor Helicopter
The Yasor Helicopter- Identifying Factors
It is the main transport helicopter of the Air Force. Since the beginning of its use in 1969, the Yasor has been used in many missions and operations in enemy territory. These missions, most of which remain confidential, showed the extensive abilities of the helicopter in rescue activities, in carrying large cargo, and in transporting combat soldiers and equipment in long distance flights.
Yasor- Sikoreski CH-53
Dimensions- length- 26.87 meters
Height- 7.58 meters
Diameter of head rotor- 22.02 meters
Diameter of tail rotor- 4.88 meters
Flight speed- maximal speed- 314 kilometers per hour
Sig Rom- 5,300 meters
Maximal flight range- 1,640 kilometers
Weight- empty- 10,690 kilograms.
Missions and Operations
The Yasor helicopters land in Israel
In august of 1968 a delegation was sent to "Sikoreski" factories in Connecticut, United States, to choose the next helicopter of the Air Force. The delegation looked for a helicopter with a great carrying ability, a high maneuvering ability, and a high survivability, which will withstand bullet hits of different calibers. The delegation considered CH-47 "Boing", and a CH-53 model of "Sikoreski". As part of the implementation of lessons learned from the Six Day War, the delegation eventually decided on a "Sikoreski" plane.
CH-53 was the biggest and strongest of the Air Force helicopters at the time, and represented the new generation of helicopters: an advance in rescue operations, transporting, and tactic landings, everywhere and at every time. On September of 1969, during the War of Attrition, two first Sikoreski CH-53 helicopters arrived in the port of Ashdod, and received their Hebrew name-Yasor (a type of sea bird). The two Yasors that arrived immediately went into a mission operation in the War of Attrition. On august 6th, 1970 the first Yasor squadron was established.
"Rooster 53" Operation
A short time after they were received into the Air Force, the Yasor helicopters went on a non-conventional mission: the kidnapping of new Soviet radar in Egypt. Super-Furlon helicopters landed Paratrooper forces near the radar station close to Ras-A'arab in Egypt. The paratroopers took over the Egyptian soldiers that were at the site and took apart the radar wagons. The two Yasor helicopters took the wagons and secretly transferred them to Israel.
A rescue in Sinai
During the latter part of the War of Attrition, on June 30th, 1970, a Phantom plane on an attack mission in the Egyptian battlefront was hurt. The pilot, Yitzhak Pir, was captured. The navigator, David Ya'ir, hid in the area, and waited to be rescued. During a late hour of the night he was sent to the area of a Yasor helicopter, which located the navigator and rescued him from the concentration of Egyptian forces, with heavy antiaircraft fire. The Yasor pilot was Brigadier General Nachmia Dagan.
The Yom Kippur War
When the Yom Kippur War broke out on October 6th 1973, the Yasor helicopters deployed the Air Force base Rapidim, in order to take an active part in the war. During the war the helicopters conducted hundreds of rescues, evacuations, and flied IDF units to missions in Egypt and Syria. The Yasor helicopters flied IDF cannon batteries, and rescued pilots and navigators, who abandoned their planes beyond enemy lines. On the third day of the war, two groups of four Egyptian Sochoi and Mig-21 planes attempted to bring down Colonel Ya'akov Biran, who was flying an isolated Yasor. The Sochoi planes recognized him close to Rapidim road, and flied above him in circles, while shooting him at the same time. When they left, the four Mig-21 planes arrived. They also began to circle the Yasor, but operated with improved coordination. Although they hurt the Yasor, they could not succeed in bringing it down, and it landed safely at its base.
The 54 Disaster
On May 10th 1977, during an integrated exercise in Bikat Hayarden, in which Yasors transferred combat forces and landed them, a Yasor helicopter crashed not far from its take off point. All 54 passengers were killed, among them ten Air Force crew members.
Peace of the Galilee War
With the breaking out of the Lebanon War, all helicopters, pilots, mechanics, and mission secretaries went north. Immediately after the battles started, the Yasors joined in the continuous operations- loading and transferring equipment, ammunition and food.
Starting the second day, the Yasors transported injured people from the battlefronts to Rambam hospital in Haifa and other hospitals in the north. The Yasors were the gate between Israel and the battlefront. On Friday, the last day before cease-fire, the Yasors brought Kiddush wine to the fronts, courtesy of the army rabbinate. There were also flights to bring shoes to the combat forces, and the Yasors flew back with a lot of notes and letters from the soldiers to their families. In 1983, in an operation called "Majiano Line," the Yasors evacuated thousands of IDF soldiers from Lebanon back to their home.
Putting out the Fire in the Karmel Forests
On September 5th 1989, without a prior attempt to put out the fire, the Yasors were launched to put out the great fire in the Karmel forests. The Yasors dropped 700 tons of water on the centers of fire, and successfully put the fire out. Since then the missions most identified with the Yasor helicopters are putting out fires.
The rescue of a yacht that runs aground
On November 8th 1992 the Yasor helicopters rescue the passangters of the Israeli yacht "Fantasy Two," which ran aground near the beaches of Sudan. As the flight advance the Yasors filled up with fuel in the air by an Hercules plane.
The helicopter disaster
On February the fourth 1997 two yasor helicopters crash into each other above Sha'ar Yeshuv in the Galilee panhandle. 73 soldiers were killed. It was the harshest disaster in the history of the Air Force, and the entire country was in shock. The committee that was formed to investigate the circumstances of the disaster could not determine with certainty the direct cause of the disaster, although it was most likely caused of a human mistake that was caused by the loss of eye contact between the two helicopters.
Deaths of the Tragedy
Lieutenant Colonel Moshe Mualam, Major Israel Hushani, major Ronen Halfon, Major Yeremy Cohen, Major Yashsish Eden, Captain Avishai Levi, Captain Dr. Vadim Melnick, Captain Dr. Vitali Redinski, Lieutenant Shai Avaksis, Lieutenant Gil Izan, Lieutenant Alon Babain, Lieutenant Kobe Ben Shem, Lieutenant Sagi Berkowitz, Lieutenant Eran Hai Peretz, Lieutenant Dotan Cohen, Lieutenant Dvir Lanir, Lieutenant Erez Shtark, Lieutenant Nir Shrivman, First Sergeant Paul Bibas, First Sergeant Bashir Hussein, Sergeant Major Golan Aviv, Sergeant Major Sagi Arazi, Sergeant Major Tamir Glazer, Sergeant Major Gal Maizles, Sergeant Major Eitan Maman, Sergeant Major Kamal Rechal, Sergeant Major Zafrir Sharoni, Staff Sergeant Amil Azulai, Staff Sergeant Shai Itamar, Staff Sergeant Heran Eliaz Parnas, Staff Sergeant Idan Alfar, Staff Sergeant Avner Alter, Staff Sergeant Avraham Afner, Staff Sergeant Ran Arman, Staff Sergeant Rafi Balalati, Staff Sergeant Nir Ben Haim, Staff Sergeant Micha Gotlib, Staff Sergeant Aviv Gonen, Staff Sergeant Asaf Dahan, Staff Sergeant Tom Kitain, Staff Sergeant Michael katz, Staff Sergeant Shila Levi, Staff Sergeant Nadav Leshinski, Staff Sergeant Ilan Lentziski, Staff Sergeant Gilad Moshel, Staff Sergeant Ya'akov Melamed, Staff Sergeant Gilad Meshiker, Staff Sergeant Asaf Siboni, Staff Sergeant Yonatan Amadi, Staff Sergeant Gidon Pozner, Staff Sergeant Shahar kasos, Staff Sergeant Asaf Rotenberg, Staff Sergeant Tzafrir Shoval, Staff Sergeant Omer Shalit, Staff Sergeant Gil Sharabi, Sergeant Itai Adler, Sergeant Tomer Goldberg, Sergeant Avishai Gidron, Sergeant Alejandro Hoffman, Sergeant Dani Zehavi, Sergeant Gidon Molato, Sergeant Vladislav Michaelov, Sergeant Idan Minker, Sergeant Moshe Saban, Sergeant Noam Atzioni, Sergeant menachem Feldman, Sergeant Vitali Peschov, Sergeant Yaron Tzufiof, Sergeant Padi Kazmal, Sergeant Tomer Kider, Sergeant Shahar Rosenberg, sergeant Yiftach Shelporevski, Corporal Shlomo Pizoati.
Their memory be blessed.
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Saludos
