IAF C-130s

ISRAELI AIR FORCE C-130 SAMSON AIRLIFTERS MAKE CONTACT DURING THE COUNTRY INDEPENDENCE DAY FLYOVER

By Dario Leone
May 5 2017
Share this article

The mishap was only discovered when ground crew discovered scuff marks on the wings of both aircraft during the post flight inspection

As reported by Ynetnews, two Israeli Air Force (IAF) C-130 Samson airlifters that were participating in a flyover to mark the country Independence Day made contact in the air and the flight crew were unaware of the incident.

The mishap was only discovered when ground crew discovered scuff marks on the wings of both aircraft during the post flight inspection.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) claimed that no lives were put at risk because of the incident: “During the Independence Day flyover, two heavy transport planes came into close contact. There was no danger to human life, and the incident is being investigated.”

However, in addition to the C-130 Samson cargo planes, the flyover also included Beechcraft King Air (Tzofit) planes, Gulfstream G550 (Shavit & Eitam) planes, the Boeing 707 Re’em refueling aircraft and the F-15 and F-16 (Ra’am and Barak) fighter jets. The F-35 advanced stealth aircraft also made its debut in a two-and-a-half hour flight from Eilat to Safed.

Noteworthy formation flying is always a difficult business even for well trained and skilled aircrews as witnessed also by the two Blue Angel F-18 Hornets which made contact last week because of an unexpected wake turbulence while training with the U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron, the Thunderbirds near Pensacola Beach, Florida.

Photo credit: Oren Rozen (Own work) via Wikimedia Commons


Share this article

Dario Leone

Dario Leone

Dario Leone is an aviation, defense and military writer. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviation Geek Club” one of the world’s most read military aviation blogs. His writing has appeared in The National Interest and other news media. He has reported from Europe and flown Super Puma and Cougar helicopters with the Swiss Air Force.

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Share this article


Share this article
Share this article

Always up to date! News and offers delivered directly to you!

Get the best aviation news, stories and features from The Aviation Geek Club in our newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.



    Share this article
    Back to top
    My Agile Privacy
    This website uses technical and profiling cookies. Clicking on "Accept" authorises all profiling cookies. Clicking on "Refuse" or the X will refuse all profiling cookies. By clicking on "Customise" you can select which profiling cookies to activate. We and our selected ad partners can store and/or access information on your device, such as cookies, unique identifiers, browsing data. You can always choose the specific purposes related to profiling by accessing the advertising preferences panel, and you can always withdraw your consent at any time by clicking on "Manage consent" at the bottom of the page.

    List of some possible advertising permissions:

    You can consult: our list of advertising partners, the Cookie Policy and the Privacy Policy.
    Warning: some page functionalities could not work due to your privacy choices