2022 Israeli Air Force AS565 Panther helicopter crash
193 Squadron AS565 MA Panther · Engine failure
Event
- Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
- Accident
- Event fatalities
- 2 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- Occupants
- 3
- Survivors
- 1
- InjuriesFatal: death within 30 days. Serious: over 48 hours in hospital within a week, most broken bones, severe bleeding, nerve or organ damage, or serious burns. Minor: anything less. Glossary
- Unknown
- OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
- Military
AS565 MA Panther
- Aircraft type
- As565 MA PANTHER
- Category
- Helicopter · from aircraft type
- RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
- 895
- Operator
- 193 Squadron
- Onboard fatalities
- 2
- Route
- From not recordedTo not recorded
Cause areas
- Aircraft › Aircraft power plant
From the investigation findings the Wikipedia article reports, sorted into the NTSB's cause areas with AI assistance.
Approximate · Estimated position: Bat Galim, the place the Wikipedia article names. Not the accident site.
From the Wikipedia article
The 2022 Israeli Air Force AS565 Panther helicopter crash occurred on January 3, 2022, when an AS565 MA Panther (known in the Israeli Air Force as "Atalef") crashed into the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Bat Galim beach, Haifa, Israel, during a nighttime training exercise. The crash resulted in the deaths of Lt. Col. Erez Sachyani and Maj. Chen Fogel, while a third crew member, Cpt. Ron Birman, survived.
Background
The AS565 Panther, manufactured by Airbus Helicopters, is a twin-engine, multi-role military helicopter widely used by navies around the world. In Israel, it is designated "Atalef" (Hebrew: עטלף, meaning "bat") and is primarily operated by 193 Squadron of the Israeli Air Force (IAF), serving in naval support roles.
Incident
On the night of January 3, 2022, at approximately 21:00 local time, the Atalef helicopter (tail number 895, MSN 6560) was engaged in a routine naval training mission. Approximately one hour into the flight, an engine fire broke out mid-air. Despite the deployment of the helicopter's emergency flotation system, the aircraft crashed into the sea just off Haifa’s Bat Galim beach.
There was no distress signal received prior to impact.
Sequence of events
The crew identified the malfunction and attempted to fight the fire using the onboard fire suppression system.
However, they did not shut down the engines prior to activating the fire system, reducing its effectiveness.
The helicopter crashed into the sea within two minutes of the fire starting.
The force of the impact knocked the pilots unconscious or severely disoriented them, preventing them from unbuckling or using oxygen tanks.
The right flotation device exploded upon impact, and the helicopter began to sink rapidly.
The cause of death for both pilots was determined to be drowning. No signs were found indicating any escape attempt.
Investigation and cause
Cause of the crash
The investigation concluded that the cause of the crash was a catastrophic failure of a turbine blade inside the left engine, caused by internal corrosion that had gone undetected. The fractured blade triggered a fire that subsequently affected the right engine and filled the cabin with smoke.
Due to the deep internal location of the corroded component, the part is not included in routine maintenance and is only checked during comprehensive overhauls every 1,650 flight hours. The helicopter had been inspected in 2017 and had flown fewer than 1,400 hours since then.
According to IAF Brig. Gen. Amir Lazar, Airbus Helicopters indicated this was the first known global incident of its kind.
Text from the Wikipedia article “2022 Israeli Air Force AS565 Panther helicopter crash” (revision 1343058320, retrieved 2026-09-18) by its authors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Extracted as plain text: references, tables, images and some sections are left out. Read the article
Sources
Wikipedia article: 2022 Israeli Air Force AS565 Panther helicopter crash
- Revision
- 1343058320 · 2026-03-12 · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Wikidata
- Q135234483
- Licence
- Text CC BY-SA 4.0, by the article's authors; Wikidata CC0; town positions GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where each value comes from
- Record
- Wikipedia article "2022 Israeli Air Force AS565 Panther helicopter crash" (page 80273585, revision 1343058320)
- Date
- Wikipedia infobox: date
- Place and country
- Wikipedia infobox: site; country from Wikidata (P17)
- Map position
- place the Wikipedia infobox site links (Wikidata coordinates)
- Aircraft, operator and route
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft type, registration, operator, origin and destination; route airports from the linked airport articles' Wikidata codes (OurAirports)
- Operation
- operator is an armed force according to Wikidata
- Fatalities
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft fatalities
- Ground fatalities
- not stated in the Wikipedia infobox
- Summary
- Wikipedia infobox: summary
Source notes (1)
- Wikipedia · Facts from the Wikipedia article's infobox and coordinates, not checked against an investigation report. Independent review pending.