Tal Shmuel Eldar Crash

SECTION: International news

LENGTH: 305 words

HEADLINE: Bodies of general, crewman, recovered from helicopter crash

DATELINE: JERUSALEM

BODY: The bodies of an Israeli air force general and a crewman who were killed Sunday in a helicopter crash, have been recovered from the Mediterranean Sea, the army spokesman said Monday. Brig. Gen. Tal Shmuel Eldar, 45, was one of the highest-ranking Israeli air force officers ever to be killed in a military air accident, according to the army. A 20-year-old second lieutenant, Ilan Gur, also died in the crash. The brigadier general was flying as a trainer for the younger pilot in an American-manufactured Cobra attack helicopter. The pilot of another helicopter flying nearby said he initially saw the Cobra's tail shaking. Then it suddenly swerved hard, lost speed and ''fell apart,'' he said on Israel TV. The tail broke off and hit the rotor before plummeting nearly 1,000 yards (meters) into the sea. Before the chopper broke up, Eldar had radioed a report about the tail shaking but said the situation was under control. A nearby airfield was preparing for an emergency landing. It was not yet known what caused the craft's catastrophic failure. The air force was investigating, and temporarily grounded its entire Cobra fleet. It was the second air force accident in two weeks. On March 1, an F-15 fighter crashed during a training flight, killing the pilot and navigator. Army radio said the high-altitude breakup occurred about 15 miles (24 km) north of Tel Aviv, off Kibbutz Gash. The chopper was headed for Palmachim air force base, 10 miles (16 km) south of Tel Aviv, where Eldar was base commander. Israeli navy boats and helicopters combed the area for hours after the crash. The wreckage was in water 30 meters (90 feet) deep. Eldar was on the military committee that investigated the crash a year ago of two helicopters carrying troops to Lebanon, which killed 73 soldiers.

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