El Al flight nearly crashed in Jerusalem hills - Haaretz - Israel News
El Al flight nearly crashed in Jerusalem hills
An El Al passenger flight nearly crashed in the hills near Jerusalem last November, due to a pilot error that has now led to the flight captain's demotion.
The incident, which is being reported here for the first time, occurred while the plane was landing at Ben-Gurion Airport. It is currently being investigated by the Ministry of Transportation's Civil Aviation Authority.
The wide-bodied Boeing 767 jet was returning from Europe with hundreds of passengers on board. As it was circling prior to landing at Ben-Gurion, the pilot initiated a descent that brought the plane lower than the permitted altitude. At the time, he was over Modi'in, which is located in the Judean Hills. A source in the Civil Aviation Authority therefore characterized the maneuver as dangerous, saying the pilot could have hit a hillside. An accident was only averted at the last minute, when the cockpit crew recognized the danger and regained altitude.
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