Pilot and navigator escape without injury; IAF chief orders all F-16 training flights grounded pending inquiry.
By YAAKOV LAPPINIAF A-4, F-16 jets at Hatzerim_370(photo credit: Reuters/Amir Cohen)
A pilot and his navigator ejected from their F-16 fighter jet during a landing at the Ramat David Air Base in the Jezreel Valley on Wednesday.The airmen escaped injury, and were taken for a medical examination.During the landing phase of the flight, the aircraft was traveling at around 300 kilometers an hour.The jet completed its landing despite the ejection.An initial investigation found that a technical fault in the plane led to the incident.Israel Air Force chief Maj.-Gen.Amir Eshel ordered all training flights of F-16 jets suspended pending the results of an investigation by a committee that will be set up to look into what went wrong.The operational readiness of F- 16 squadrons remains unaffected.
