Israeli aviation officials are examining whether a service vehicle’s collision with an Israir aircraft at a London airport on Friday may have been deliberate and motivated by nationalist hostility, after the incident forced the cancellation of a flight to Tel Aviv.

The collision marked the third time in less than a year that a service vehicle operated by one of the airport’s contractors struck an Israir plane in London. In light of the repeated incidents, senior aviation officials have raised the possibility that the latest collision was intentional. Israeli officials have contacted aviation authorities in London and elsewhere in England and are considering further steps.

The aircraft was preparing to depart for Tel Aviv when the service vehicle struck it. Passengers remained aboard for about an hour without air conditioning before the aircraft was shut down. They then waited approximately another hour before being told that the flight had been canceled following an inspection of the damage.

Some passengers were transferred to hotels, while others waited for an alternative flight later that day. Shabbos-observant passengers were forced to remain in London until Sunday, when they returned to Israel on another flight.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)