An Israeli training fighter crashed on Thursday lunchtime during a training exercise near the Israeli costal city of Ashkelon.
According to Israeli sources the pilot ejected from the plane after its engine caught fire. Although the plane crashed into the sea, the pilot was safely retrieved by an Israeli air force rescue helicopter.
Shortly after collecting the pilot, he was moved to a nearby hospital. Medical sources said that he escaped with only minor cuts and bruises.
Major-General Eliezer Shkedy, an Israeli air force commander, has begun an investigation into the accident. Sources in the Israel army said that an initial probe indicated that the pilot had acted in accordance with military guidelines for such incidents.
The downed aircraft was an old Sky-Hawk fighter jet, which is used only for training purposes.
