Israel Komet, a 71-year-old Israeli pilot, was killed after the ultralight aircraft he was flying crashed shortly after takeoff near Hatten Airport outside Oldenburg, Germany. Komt was en route to Switzerland, where he lived.
According to a statement from local police, the crash occurred Tuesday afternoon, just minutes after the aircraft took off. The plane, a Shark 600 model, lost altitude and crashed in an open area near the runway. It was almost completely destroyed. Komet, who was alone on the flight and owned the aircraft, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The crash site
(Video: NWM-TV / dpa)
German authorities said there is currently no indication of external involvement, but the circumstances of the crash remain unclear. The investigation is being conducted by police in cooperation with aviation accident investigators.
One of the key issues under review is the aircraft’s safety system. This model is equipped with an advanced ballistic emergency parachute, designed to deploy in case of malfunction and slow the aircraft’s descent. In this case, however, the parachute was not activated.
Following the crash, special units were required to detonate the parachute capsule at the scene due to a safety risk. Investigators are working to determine what caused the loss of control and whether the emergency system, which was not deployed, could have prevented the crash.
About 50 emergency responders were dispatched to the scene, including firefighting teams, police and accident investigators. A fire broke out in the aircraft shortly after the crash but was quickly extinguished.
Haggai Stadler, a relative of Komet, wrote on Facebook: “How do you sum up in words a man you loved so much who left the world so suddenly? Israel Komet, my father’s cousin, was the ultimate rebel. A kibbutznik who lived the big, wide world. With a constant smile, he feared nothing, answered to no one and lived exactly as he loved. He rode a heavy motorcycle, sailed yachts and flew planes himself. In every room he entered, he was the sharpest, the smartest, the coolest, the most straightforward.
“He founded and managed Israeli industrial companies that were highly successful and among the most advanced in their fields worldwide. There wasn’t a single manager in Europe’s plastics industry whose door wasn’t open to him. He loved deeply — his wife Cindy, his daughters and his grandchildren. This larger-than-life man crashed a few days ago with the plane he was flying somewhere in the heart of Europe. It breaks the heart. I loved him very much.”