Israeli Air Force Boss Grounds Fighters to Highlight Safety

The Israeli air force grounded all of its fighting squadrons for one day on 14 October, following a series of safety incidents.

Imposed by the service's commander, Maj Gen Amir Eshel, the action was taken as a means of refreshing the safety instructions that apply to the air force's fixed-wing and rotorcraft squadrons.

Eshel's order came after several recent incidents, including one during which two Lockheed Martin F-16 "Barak" fighters flown by high-ranking officers passed within an unsafe distance of each other. Sources say the aircraft came within 100m (328ft) of colliding.

The Israeli air force's combat aircraft inventory also includes Boeing F-15s  plus Bell AH-1, Boeing AH-64 and Sikorsky CH-53 and S-70/UH-60A helicopters, as recorded by Flightglobal's MiliCAS database.