A Plane Lost One Wing So a Pilot Decided to Do This

It was a regular training day for the Israeli Air Force. Several combat jets were up in the air, simulating an aerial fight. One of those jets was an F-15 Eagle that already had some history and even got a nickname — Markia Schakim, which means “Sky Blazer” in Hebrew.

Piloting the jet was a new member of the Air Force, Zivi Nedivi, and behind him sat his instructor and navigator, Yehoar Gal, an experienced pilot himself. The training exercise they were performing wasn’t anything out of the ordinary drill: two F-15s were to get away from four A-4 Skyhawks in the open sky over the desert. If everything went according to plan and instructions, no danger would come to any pilots or aircraft. At least that’s what everyone believed...