Plane crashes in Eilat; 1 killed, 2 injured

A man died and two sustained moderate to serious injuries as a result of plane crash near Eilat. According to Magen David Adom, the man who was dead was in his early 50s.

  

The two who were injured were evacuated to the Soroka University Medical Center in Beersheba.

  

The plane crashed between the city airport and an Eilat shopping center. Magen David Adom paramedics and firefighters arrived at the scene.

The cause of the crash is unknown. Prior to the accident, the pilot declared emergency status and the plane was seen in a dive toward the ground.

  

The airport was closed to takeoffs and landings until rescue services, which were dispatched to the scene of the accident, returned.

The plane, which carried a pilot and two passengers, took off from Herzliya and at the time of the crash, was preparing for landing.

The fire rescue teams which arrived on the scene sprayed foam on the plane to prevent it from catching fire.

A week ago a light plane on route from Rosh Pina to Tel Aviv and carrying nine passengers performed a belly landing in Ben Gurion International Airport after its front landing gear malfunctioned.

The pilot managed to safely land the aircraft and the passengers were unharmed. On May 20 a light aircraft collided with two helicopters on the tarmac at Haifa's airport, injuring two passengers.