| 1983 Negev mid-air collision | |
| Date: | 1 May 1983 |
| Type: | Mid-air collision |
| Site: | Negev, Israel |
| Total Fatalities: | 0 |
| Total Survivors: | 3 |
| Plane1 Image: | McDonnell Douglas F-15D Eagle (Baz), Israel - Air Force AN2224391.jpg |
| Plane1 Alt: | 400 |
| Plane1 Caption: | The Israeli Air Force F-15D Baz '957' involved in the incident, seen here in 2011 |
| Plane1 Type: | McDonnell Douglas F-15D Eagle |
| Plane1 Name: | Markia Schakim |
| Plane1 Operator: | 106 Squadron Israeli Air Force |
| Plane1 Tailnum: | 957 |
| Plane1 Origin: | Tel Nof Airbase |
| Plane1 Crew: | 2 |
| Plane1 Fatalities: | 0 |
| Plane1 Survivors: | 2 |
| Plane2 Image: | IsraeliSkyhawk.JPG |
| Plane2 Alt: | 400 |
| Plane2 Caption: | An Israeli Air Force A-4 Skyhawk similar to the one involved |
| Plane2 Type: | Douglas A-4 Skyhawk |
| Plane2 Operator: | 116 Squadron Israeli Air Force |
| Plane2 Tailnum: | 374 |
| Plane2 Origin: | Nevatim Airbase |
| Plane2 Crew: | 1 |
| Plane2 Fatalities: | 0 |
| Plane2 Survivors: | 1 |
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.[1]
On 1 May 1983, during an Israeli Air Force dissimilar air combat training session over the Negev, an F-15D Eagle (called Baz (Falcon) by the Israelis) collided with an A-4 Skyhawk. The pilot of the Skyhawk was automatically ejected and his aircraft disintegrated. The right wing of the Eagle was sheared off roughly 2-1NaN-1 from the root. The crew of the two-seat training version F-15, pilot Zivi Nedivi and navigator Yehoar Gal, did not initially realize the extent of the damage, as fuel leaking profusely and vaporizing at the wing attachment was obscuring their view of the area where the wing once was.
The F-15 started rolling uncontrollably after the collision and the instructor ordered an ejection. Nedivi, who outranked the instructor, decided not to eject and 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 200NaN0 from the end of the runway. He later told The History Channel, "it's highly likely that if I had seen it clearly I would have ejected, because it was obvious you couldn't really fly an airplane like that." He added, "Only when McDonnell Douglas later went to analyze it, they said, OK, the F-15 has a very wide [lifting] body; you fly fast enough and you're like a rocket. You don't need wings."
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.