Two Israeli air force helicopters collided in mid-air Sunday night, killing all seven pilots and crew members aboard.
The disaster occurred at about 9:45 p.m. local time over the Samaria region of the West Bank.
Both helicopters were Sikorsky CH-53D transports known as Stallions, or “Yas’ur” in Hebrew.
The giant choppers, each able to lift 50 fully-equipped combat troops, were on a routine training flight, according to the air force. One carried two pilots and two crew members, and the other two pilots and one crew member.
Maj. Gen. Avihu Bin-Nun, the air force commander, who visited the crash site Sunday night, has named a high-level board of inquiry to determine the cause of the crash.
The air force said the collision occurred when the aircraft were several miles north of Ramallah, near Ba’al Hatzor and Nevo Shilo, on the eastern slopes of the Samaria range overlooking the Jordan Valley.
Soldiers at a nearby Israel Defense Force camp saw a sudden fireball in the air and rushed to the scene.
They found the burning remains of one helicopter and pulled two of its three occupants out alive, but both men died before they could reach a hospital.
The wreckage of the second helicopter was found on a rocky hillside several hours later. All four aboard were dead.
The IDF identified the four pilots Monday as Lt. Col. Hagay Koshet, 39; Maj. Shai Tzfoni, 29; reserve Capt. Ilan Kaufman, 29; and Capt. Nimrod Paschi, 23.
The dead crew members were Chief Master Sgt. Gideon Hanon, 31; Master Sgt. Mordechai Goren, 23; and Master Sgt. Yaron Hadad, 22.
Funeral services were being held Monday and Tuesday. The IDF asked the news media not to attend, in deference to the families’ wishes.
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