Name of Galilee Plane Crash Victim Released

Authorities on Monday released for publication the name of an Israeli who was killed Friday when a plane he was piloting crashed. The pilot was 72-year-old Gera Ronen, z”l, a resident of the northern community of Lavon. Ronen was killed when his ultralight plane crashed in an open field near Kibbutz Merchavia, in the lower Galilee.

Ronen was a longtime pilot, who had flown many kinds of aircraft over the years. The circumstances of the plane’s crash were not clear, and an investigation is underway. Ronen was found pinned under some of the plane’s body, and was already niftar when rescue services arrived at the site of the crash. He is survived by three sons, all of whom live abroad and had returned to Israel for the levayah, scheduled for later Monday.

A report by Yisrael Hayom said that Ronen’s death was eerily similar to that of his only brother’s, 30 years earlier. Yoram Ronen died in a light plane crash in the Chevron area on December 7th, 1987 – just a few days, and three decades, from Gera Ronen’s death.

In a statement, the community of Lavon said that Ronen “was dedicated to his hobby, as he was to everything he did. He read a great deal and never stopped learning, and he also volunteered as an administrator for the community. He was always willing to help people who needed assistance.”