IAF Commander Orders Investigation of Flood Damage

A not-for-attribution admission of error in the flood damage to fighter planes during last week’s rainstorm was not good enough for Israeli Air Force commander Amikam Norkin.

Norkin on Tuesday ordered a full investigation of how it happened that the planes were not moved to safety at the Hatzor base in the south before it was too late.

“[Norkin] said the incident was unbecoming of the [air] force and believed it was important to investigate, learn lessons and implement them in order to prevent similar incidents in the future,” the military said in a statement.

Earlier in the week, a military official not identified by name was quoted in the media as saying it was a mistake not to move the planes before the flooding, but that repairs would be completed and they would be fully operational within a few days.