Israeli Helicopter Crashes Mid-Lift After Cable Fails

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West Bank :An Israeli Air Force (IAF) UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter locally known as the Yanshuf crashed on Friday morning during a recovery lift operation near Ma’ale Amos in the Gush Etzion area of the West Bank, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) confirmed.

 The incident occurred when the damaged Black Hawk, which had made an emergency landing earlier in the week due to severe weather, was being airlifted by a larger transport helicopter using a sling-load system. During the lift, the connection cable or harness reportedly failed mid-air, causing the helicopter to detach and fall to the ground on a hillside near residential areas.

 Dramatic video footage shared online shows the helicopter suddenly dropping as the cable appears to give way, before impacting terrain a few meters below.

 The IDF said no crew members or civilians were injured in the crash. However, the helicopter sustained significant structural damage and is likely a total loss.

 Following the mishap, Israeli Air Force Commander Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar ordered the establishment of a military investigative committee to examine the circumstances of the accident and determine the cause of the cable failure during the recovery operation.

 Black Hawk helicopters are a mainstay of the IAF’s utility fleet, routinely used for troop transport, medical evacuation, and other support missions. The Yanshuf designation refers to the locally operated Sikorsky UH-60 variant.

 The recovery lift was part of a routine operation to extract the helicopter from a field where it had been grounded since Tuesday, and no hostile activity was involved in the incident, the military said.