Israeli Air Force F-16I Soufa fighter jet avoids collision with another aircraft

Israeli Air Force F-16I Soufa fighter jet almost crashes into another plane and groundcrew members at one of the IAF bases in southern Israel after reportedly losing braking capability due to hydraulic drive systems failure; jet sustains damage, no injuries reported.

Israeli Air Force F-16I Soufa avoids collision (Photo by www.93fm.co.il)

The Israeli Air Force (IAF) is reportedly investigating an incident in which an F-16 fighter jet almost collided with another aircraft and several groundcrew members.

The incident is said to have occurred on Wednesday at one of the IAF bases located in southern Israel after the braking system of the F-16I Soufa jet had reportedly malfunctioned.

There were no injuries in the incident but the front part of the plane sustained some damage.

An initial investigation revealed that after the jet had returned from a training mission, it was waiting at the predetermined point between the landing strip and the subterranean bunker where the planes are stored. At a certain point, for reasons still unknown, the aircraft lost its braking capability due to a failure of one of the hydraulic drive systems.

The jet began to ride down the runway and in order to prevent a collision with another plane that was located right ahead and crashing into the groundcrew that was operating in the area, the pilot managed to divert it to a nearby channel. The plane was then taken for inspection.

The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit issued a response, emphasizing the malfunction has since been fixed and the jet returned to full activity.

“After concluding a training mission, the brakes of the fighter jet had malfunctioned. The pilots were not hurt, but the plane sustained slight damage. The problem has since been fixed by the technicians,” the statement stressed.

Source: By Yoav Zitun (ynetnews.com)- 01 November 2018