Related stories:
- Light aircraft crashes into helicopters in Haifa, 2 injured
- Arkia plane lands at Ovda base after hitting bird
- Body of missing pilot found near Jordan border
The two, both 35, noticed that the fuel in their Cessna had run out just as they were above the city of Petah Tikva.
Plane wreck (Photo: Central District Rescue Services)
The pilot began searching for a nearby place were he could land the plane and eventually his eyes found the Sirkin airstrip, an old British Air force airfield, dating back to the days of the British mandate. Afterwards, the strip was nationalized and served as one of the first training sites for the IAF.
While conducting the emergency landing, the plane, which took off earlier from the Herzliya airport, hit a lamppost. As a result of the hit, the plane deviated from its path and into the nearby shrubbery lining the sides of the strip.
MDA paramedics were alerted to the scene as were firefighter squads and police. When rescue forces arrived at the scene they found that both men had successfully pulled themselves out of the plane wreck.
The two then received medical attention and firefighters worked neutralize the plane's wreck from potential inflammation as a result of the remaining flammable fumes in the plane's gas tank.
Speaking to Ynet, one of the rescue workers told Ynet that the two were very lucky that the plane did not catch fire. The reason this did not occur? The plane was out of gas.
- Receive Ynetnews updates
directly to your desktop