Former Air Force Pilot Killed in Light Aircraft Crash Near Kafr Kara
A 75-year-old former air force pilot, Eran Peleg, was killed and his trainee was moderately injured when their light aircraft crashed and burned near Kafr Kara.
Eran Peleg, a 75-year-old resident of Kfar Saba, has been identified as the pilot killed in a light aircraft crash near Kafr Kara in Wadi Ara. Peleg was a former air force combat pilot who held the rank of lieutenant colonel in the reserves and later became a high-tech startup entrepreneur.
At the time of the accident, Peleg was instructing a 33-year-old flight trainee. The two took off from the Megiddo airstrip in northern Israel, and the aircraft crashed into an open field near Kafr Kara. The plane caught fire and was completely destroyed, with the flames spreading to a nearby grove and toward local residential homes. Firefighters managed to bring the blaze under control.
The accident was reported to the Magen David Adom (MDA) Sharon region dispatch at 09:12. The trainee, who suffered limb burns, was rescued from the wreckage and evacuated to Rambam Health Care Campus in Haifa. Initially listed in serious condition, hospital officials later updated his status to moderate following examinations in the trauma unit.
Peleg also served as a flight instructor at the Sky Tisa flight school. The circumstances of the crash are currently under investigation by police and aviation safety authorities.
