IAF Helicopter Crash in Romania
Monday, July 26th, an IAF helicopter carrying 6 Israeli crew members and 1 Romanian officer crashed in a mountainous region of Romania during a routine training exercise.
The IDF has recently received information from Israeli and Romanian rescue forces confirming seven deaths at the scene of the IAF 'Yasur' (CH-53) helicopter crash. IDF Rabbinate and Casualty Identification Center representatives arrived at the crash site on Tuesday to verify this information.
Brig. Gen. (Res.) Relik Shafir, a retired IAF pilot and former Tel Nof Air Force Base Commander, commented that the tragic deaths of the 7 men are “not only a great loss to their families but to the Air Force family as well.”
The six IDF soldiers aboard the helicopter were:
- Maj. Yahel Keshet (33) of Hatzerim, near Be’er Sheva, Z”l
- Lt. Nir Lakrif (25) of Tel Nof Air Force Base, Z”l
- Lt.-Col. Avner Goldman (48) of Modi'in, Z”l
- Lt.-Col. Daniel Shifenbauer (43) of Moshav Kidron, near Yad Binyamin, Z”l
- Maj. Lior Shai (28) of Tel Nof Air Force Base, Z”l
- Sgt.-Maj. Oren Cohen (24) of Rehovot, Z”l
All crew members were highly trained members of the Air Force. The cause of the crash is thought to be a result of poor weather conditions or technical failure.
“We have apparently lost some of the IAF’s best air fighters,” say IAF sources.