Rosh Pina Airport

Rosh Pina Airport, sometimes called Mahanayim Airport due to its proximity to Mahanayim, is an Israeli airport located in Rosh Pinna, near the Safed-Hatzor-Rosh Pina Industrial Park.The airport is 16km from Safed, 29km from Tiberias and 30km from Kiryat Shmona.HistoryThe airport was built in 1943 during the British Mandate for Palestine. Mahanayim served the British army against Vichy France in Syria. In 1948 the airport was taken over by the IAF. In the 1950s, Arkia Israel Airlines began service to the airport, working from a hut which served as a passenger terminal and air traffic control tower. By 1968, a new terminal building had been constructed and three years later, in 1971, a fire station and control tower were erected. Following increased activity, the passenger terminal was further expanded in 1994. In 2008, the airport was closed temporarily for the testing of an Elbit Systems unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).Accidents On 19 April 1974 two Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopters collided over the airport. One of the helicopters managed to land safely while the other helicopter crashed and caught fire. All 8 IDF soldiers on board died. On 4 February 1997 two Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopters took off from the airport on their way towards the Israeli Security Zone in southern Lebanon. The helicopters collided over She'ar Yashuv in northern Israel and crashed, killing all 73 IDF soldiers on board (see 1997 Israeli helicopter disaster).