JERUSALEM (JTA) — An Israeli pilot and navigator were killed when their fighter jet crashed during a training flight in southern Israel.
The two-seater F-16I fighter jet, nicknamed Soufa, or storm, crashed Wednesday night near the Ramon Crater. The bodies were found Thursday afternoon, several hours after the crash, following an extensive search.
Human error is suspected in the accident.
Four planes took part in the exercise on the Israeli Air Force’s newest plane. Until the exact cause of the crash is pinpointed, training on the airplanes has been halted, according to the military.
In September 2009, an Israel Air Force F-16A fighter plane crashed during a training flight, killing pilot Assaf Ramon, the son of Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon, who died in the crash of the U.S. space shuttle Columbia in 2003.
