Israeli soldiers chose a small Israeli crop-dusting plane for target practice after mistaking it for an enemy aircraft ‘intruding’ into the airspace of occupied Golan Heights.
The appearance of a tiny agricultural aircraft over the clear blue skies of the Golan provoked an immediate response by the trigger-happy IDF paratroopers, who opened fire at the supposed intruder thinking it was a Syrian plane that had invaded Israel.
Stopping in the middle of the road, three soldiers began offloading their magazines at the approaching plane that was seen flying over the fields, video of the encounter shows.
The plane caught several bullets before the soldiers realized they have been firing at a fellow Israeli.The pilot, who himself thought he was sustaining fire from the Syrian side of the border, managed to land the plane at the Mahanaim airfield near Rosh Pina, local outlets reported.
This was a serious incident that is being investigated. Lessons will be learned.
No one was injured in this bizarre encounter, the IDF said, noting that it is a standard military procedure to identify and engage “infiltrating aircraft” so close to the Syrian border.
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