A light plane crashed during landing on Thursday afternoon, in an airfield near Haifa. Three passengers were killed, among them Doron Amir, a Lt. Col. in the reserves who commanded the navy's submarine fleet and later served as the army's attaché to Holland and Scandinavia, and Reuben Zigler, who was a naval construction expert. Amir is survived by a wife, a son and daughter, and five granddaughters. The third victim was identified as 58-year-old Uri Levy of Kfar Shariyahu.
Another passenger was seriously wounded and two others emerged unscathed and were treated for shock. A massive fire broke out at the scene, but was subdued by firefighters who alerted to the airfield.
The aircraft, reportedly of Beechcraft Bonanza make, was preparing to land in Haifa's small airfield after taking off from Cyprus. As the plane attempted to land it skidded off the runway and hit a nearby structure, an abandoned building that once served as living quarters for a nearby military base.
Rescue services rushed to the scene after receiving the report, and initially declared it a mass casualty event as there was no immediate information confirming the size of the aircraft that crashed.
A forward air controller who was on shift at the time told Ynet that the pilot appeared to be having difficulties on approach. "The plane couldn't land, it went around, wobbled and then crashed. We asked the pilot if he was going to circle the airfield once more. He said yes - and then all of a sudden the plane crashed," she said.
Magen David Adom paramedics said that one of those wounded, a man of around 50 years of age, sustained burns to most of his body and was in serious condition. An intensive care mobile unit operated
by MDA-Carmel is currently evacuating the wounded to the Rambam hospital in Haifa. Two other passengers were treated for shock.
Police have confirmed they have handed over the information collected from the site to the Israeli Airports Authority, which has launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash.
Several months ago the pilot of a Piper crop-dusting plane was injured near Ashkelon. He was forced to make an emergency landing in a nearby town after hitting a cellular antennae.
First published: 18:10, 08.07.8