Last update - 00:00 17/12/2006
Report: IAF failures to blame for teen's death in pre-pilot course
By Nir Hasson and Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondents
An internal Israel Air Force report concluded Sunday that the death of Itai Sharon, who died in August during qualification tests for the IAF pilots' course, resulted from a series of failures within the IAF.
17-year-old Sharon, of Zichron Ya'akov, died of heat stroke during the fourth day of training following two hours of intense physical activity.
An investigation of the incident revealed that more than an hour passed between the time Sharon was unable to continue training and the time he was examined by a medic. The medic who eventually did examine him was not properly trained and had misdiagnosed Sharon as suffering from water poisoning, which resulted in unsuitable treatment.
The report also condemns Sharon's evacuation from the training ground, saying that the teen was transported to see a doctor in a military vehicle with hot floors, which worsened Sharon's condition. In addition, Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheva was not properly notified of Sharon's arrival and therefore was not prepared to treat him, as he was in critical condition by the time he arrived at the hospital.
The investigating team formulated a series of recommendations against the commander of the flight school where the course took place, as well as several commanders in charge of medical care. Air force chief Major General Eliezer Shkedi asked the investigation team to tie up some loose ends before he makes his final decision on how to proceed. The military police has also begun to investigate the incident to determine whether criminal charges are appropriate.
Itai Sharon had completed high-school only a few months before his death, and had followed in his father's footsteps in trying out for the air force. His father, a pilot, had been killed in a helicopter crash in 1988, some four months after Itai was born. Since the accident, the Sharon family had kept close ties with the father's air force colleagues.
Several incidents of death resulting from heat stroke have been recorded in Israel Defense Forces history.