Tel Aviv. The commander of the Israeli Air Force (IAF) Maj. General Amikam Norkin decided to ground all the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters following a number of technical malfunctions that have occurred in the choppers in last two months.

Following the malfunctioning, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Spokesman announced that the Air Force’s technical unit will conduct an investigation until the end of which the Black Hawks will be grounded except for operational activities.

Malfunctions were detected in the engines of this type of helicopter and caused some emergency landings.

The decision was made after a series of serious safety incidents, during which the helicopter engines shut down and nearly caused accidents during flight and before takeoff. In one of the incidents, the helicopter engine that flew the IDF Chief of Staff Lt. General Aviv Kochavi suddenly shut down during a flight, which almost led to a disaster.

In another recent incident, just before taking off a helicopter loaded with soldiers, one of the engines unexpectedly shut down.

-The writer is an Israel-based freelance journalist. Views expressed are personal and do not necessarily reflect the views of Raksha Anirveda