Two Israeli men were killed Saturday when the light plane they were flying over the Judean Hills crashed.
The pilot, Rahamim Marciano, a father of five, 61, from Rishon Lezion, and Amit Abrutzky, 31, from Tel Aviv, were killed in a Sierra light aircraft that took off from an airstrip in the center of the country and crashed in an open area near Mevo Beitar in the Jerusalem Mountains, near Gush Etzion.
An initial investigation indicates that the two were flying the Sierra toward the Dead Sea area when they encountered heavy fog over the Jerusalem area, and decided to turn back. While turning back, the plane hit the trees and crashed.
MDA paramedic Eldad Benstein said that immediately after receiving a report about a plane that went off the grid, searches were launched when fragments of the plane were found near the entrance to Mevo Beitar. They entered the forest area using a 4 × 4 ambulance.
“The two men were lying next to the wreckage of the plane that crashed while they were unconscious and suffering from serious injuries and after medical tests we had to determine their deaths,” he said.
A Civil Aviation Authority crew arrived at the scene of the crash and began investigating the circumstances of the accident.
