IDF helicopter crash kills two reservists

An Israeli military helicopter crashed during a routine training flight, killing two crew members.

Lt. Col. Noam Ron, 49, of Oranit, and Maj. Erez Flekser, 31, of Haifa — both veteran military reservists — were killed when their Bell AH-1 Cobra crashed March 12 in southern Israel as it traveled from the training flight to the Palmachim air base.

Maj.-Gen. Amir Eshel, the commander of the Israeli Air and Space Force, ordered an investigation and grounded all Bell

AH-1 Cobra helicopters until the circumstances of the accident are clarified.

Cobras, which are manufactured in the United States, have been part of the Israeli air force since the mid-1970s, according to the daily Haaretz. Some used first by the U.S. Air Force are nearly 40 years old, though they have been upgraded. — jta