Ten months since the Bat helicopter crashed off the coast of Haifa, in which two pilots were killed – Navy officer Ron Bierman, the only survivor, is speaking for the first time. In an interview with Amir Gra, he recounts the dramatic minutes in which he had time to report the accident, tells about his efforts to rescue and save his friends even though he was injured himself, and also about the pain and guilt. “I regained consciousness when the helicopter was full of water, I quickly ran out of air. I realized I was going to drown.”
Watch the segment from the interview that will be broadcast on Shabbat News
The report on the mishap, the efforts to rescue his friends while he was injured and the feelings of guilt: first television interview with the officer who survived the crash of the “Bat” off the coast of Haifa – “I regained consciousness when the helicopter was full of water, I quickly ran out of air. I realized I was going to drown”
The full interview with Amir Gra – in#NewSaturday19:55 here 11 pic.twitter.com/CWgCqeOkx5
— here news (@kann_news) October 13, 2022
In February, the committee investigating the crash of the military helicopter, in which Lt. Col. Erez Shayini and Lt. Gen. Chen Fogel were killed, submitted an interim report stating that the technical malfunction that led to the crash was caused by corrosion in the left engine. The corrosion led to impaired air flow and the breaking of one of the engine blades – which in turn led to a fire.
The smoke in the helicopter penetrated into the cockpit and following the impact of the two engines – the helicopter quickly lost altitude and two minutes after the fire broke out it hit the sea water with force. The team of experts determined that the two pilots would operate the helicopter professionally until it hit the water – which allowed Beerman’s rescue. The pilots lost consciousness from the impact of the helicopter in the water. No evidence was found of their attempt to get out of the helicopter, such as opening oxygen tanks or trying to free themselves from their seat belts, and they drowned.