In May 1983, four F-15D F-15D and four A-4N Skyhawks of the Israeli Air Force wereperforming a maneuver over the Negev Desert when one of the former collided with a Skyhawk. The F-15D pilot, Zivi Nedivi, was making his squadron debut that day. Nedivivi did not instantly realize what had just happened, despite the jolt he suffered. Shortly afterwards he saw the fireball caused by the accident; the aircraft began to leak oil from its right wing and spiral downward. Nedivi received radio instructions to use the ejector seat, but decided to disobey them. The pilot was convinced that he could land with the broken wing on the nearest runway, which was just over 15 km from the crash site; he regained control by activating the afterburners, which stabilized the aircraft and allowed it to gain speed. Asked by the Israeli Air Force, the manufacturer McDonnell Douglas assured that the F-15 could not fly with only one wing. Zivi Nedivi did not realize that he had landed with a broken wing… until he got off the plane! As for the aircraft, it received a new wing and flew again.
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