Site Negev, Israel Registration 957 Date 1 May 1983 Summary Mid-air collision | Name Markia Schakim Crew 2 Number of deaths 0 Total survivors 3 | |
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Type McDonnell Douglas F-15D Eagle Operator 106 Squadron Israeli Air Force Flight origins Tel Nof Airbase, Nevatim Airbase Similar Aeroflot Flight 601, Madrid runway disaster, Gulf Air Flight 771, TAAG Angola Airlines Fl, Aeroflot Flight 5463 | ||
In May 1983, two Israeli Air Force aircraft, an F-15 Eagle and an A-4 Skyhawk, collided in mid-air during a training exercise over the Negev region, in Israel. Notably, the F-15 – with a crew of two – managed to land safely at a nearby airbase, despite having its right wing almost completely sheared off in the collision. The lifting body properties of the F-15, together with its overabundant engine thrust, allowed the pilot to achieve this unique feat.
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Accident
On 1 May 1983, during an Israeli Air Force dissimilar air combat training session over the Negev, an F-15D Eagle (or Baz) collided with an A-4 Skyhawk. The pilot of the Skyhawk ejected and his aircraft disintegrated. The right wing of the Eagle was sheared off roughly 2 ft (60 cm) from the root. The F-15 crew, pilot Ziv Nedivi and navigator Yehoar Gal, did not initially realize the extent of the damage, as fuel leaking profusely from the wing attachment and vaporizing was obscuring the area where the wing once was.
The F-15 entered what seemed to be an uncontrollable spin after the collision. Nedivi attempted recovery by engaging the afterburner, and eventually regained control of the aircraft. He was able to maintain control because of the lift generated by the large areas of the fuselage, stabilators, and remaining wing. Diverting to Ramon Airbase, the F-15 landed at twice the normal speed to maintain the necessary lift, and its tailhook was torn off completely during the landing. Nedivi managed to bring his F-15 to a complete stop approximately 20 ft (6 m) from the end of the runway. He was later quoted as saying "(I) probably would have ejected if I knew what had happened." However, he also stated that above a certain speed, the F-15 acted "like a rocket" and did not need wings, effectively becoming something similar to a lifting body.
Aftermath
The aircraft, 106 Squadron's 957 Markia Schakim (Hebrew: מרקיע שחקים, Sky Blazer), was transported by road to an IAF maintenance unit at Tel Nof, where it was repaired. Having already claimed four enemy aircraft during the 1982 Lebanon War, the repaired aircraft was to claim a shared kill of another Syrian MiG-23 on November 19, 1985.