The crew of an Israeli F-16 jet downed by Syrian anti-aircraft missile made "professional error," according to the conclusions of a probe issued by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) on Sunday.

The conclusions said that the crew made a professional error by choosing to complete the mission and not defend themselves sufficiently.

Their actions did not correlate with standard procedure while under enemy fire.

Meanwhile, the Israeli army said the air crew's decision to eject when the aircraft was hit was correct.

The Chief of the General Staff, Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot, presented the conclusions of the investigation regarding the interception of the Iranian UAV and the crash of the F-16 fighter jet in their entirety when he visited the Ramon Airbase Sunday morning.

"The investigation presented to me is professional and to the point and I am convinced that the operational conclusions will be produced," said Eizenkot.

The conclusions also showed that the preliminary preparations for the operation were correct and resulted in the destruction of the pre-determined targets.

The aircraft's self-defense systems operated properly and alerted the crew on time.

During the operational activity, several IAF aircraft completed their missions while under enemy fire.

The intelligence provided to the mission planners and the squadrons was adequate in order to complete the mission, according to the conclusions.

The Israeli army launched large-scale attacks against the Syrian aerial defense system and Iranian targets in Syria in response to downing of an Israeli F-16 fighter on Feb. 10.

Source:
courtesy of XINHUA NEWS AGENCY

by Xinhua News Agency

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