An Israeli Air Force fighter jet preparing to take off for an attack on Lebanon almost crashed into another plane on a runway at an airbase on Saturday night, a leaked video footage showed.
It was an F-16 fighter jet of the Israeli Air Force that avoided certain tragedy by a whisker ahead of taking off from the Ramat David Airbase in northern Israel. While on the runway to join an air raid targeting Hezbollah, the F-16 came close to another fighter aircraft of the Air Force which was crossing its path.
Sensing danger, pilots of both planes manoeuvred out of the way moments before coming into contact with each other, the leaked video showed.
An Israeli Air Force fighter jet almost crashed into another plane on the runway on Saturday night, in a safety incident that is under investigation.
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) October 28, 2024
During the incident, an F-16 was taking off from the Ramat David Airbase in northern Israel for a strike in Lebanon, when it… pic.twitter.com/I4UKYt3wpg
It remains unclear how the video reached Israeli media from the Ramat David Airbase. Tel Aviv is treating the development as a safety incident and has started a probe, Times Of Israel said in a report. The Israeli media added that when contacted for a comment, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the video's authenticity. They blamed a faulty takeoff approval from the control tower for the incident. The team failed to spot the presence of another plane on the runway while giving take-off clearance for the F-16.
"The crews responded quickly and professionally and a serious safety incident was avoided," the IDF says, adding that the incident will be investigated further. There were no damage or injuries, Emanuel Fabian of the TOI wrote while sharing the viral video on X.
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“The issuance of wrong take-off approval by the air traffic control tower, while another plane was on the runway,” the Times Of Israel report said.
The F-16 or General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a US-made single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft. Several US allies acorss the world including Israel, Ukraine, Venezuela and Turkey have these modern fighter aircraft at their dispense.
