A Kfir TC.12 fighter jet belonging to the Colombian air force (FAC), crashed Tuesday (18 February 2014) on a training mission, killing one of the two pilots and injuring the other. The two-seat fighter jet identified as tail# FAC3006 crashed at 4:53 p.m. local time. It was on a training mission, performing combat manoeuvres over the municipality Norcasia in central Colombia. According to the report one of the pilots managed to eject from the plane before it crashed, the other did not survive. The FAC launched an investigation with the aim of determining the causes of the accident. This is the second crash of a TC.12 in six months.
This incident represents the first Colombian fatality involved with the upgraded Kfir. In 2008 Colombia acquired 24 Kfir C10/12 and TC.12 fighter jets from Israel. Three were lost in accidents in 2009, 2010 and 2012. The first accident occurred in 2009 as the TC.12 veered off the runway on landing. It was flown by an Israeli crew, and the incident was blamed on human error. (IAI replaced the aircraft). A second Kfir C.10 was lost after takeoff in 2010, the cause was probably an engine malfunction. About six months ago a TC.12 Kfir crashed while on a training mission, both crew members survived this event. Incidently, these crashes involved the entire series of Kfirs – FAC3004 was involved in the 2009 accident, FAC3005 followed in 2010 while FAC3003 (TC7) was involved in the 2012 accident.
