Eran Peleg, a 75-year-old former Israeli Air Force fighter pilot and longtime flight instructor, has been identified as the man killed when a light aircraft crashed near Kafr Qara in the Wadi Ara area on Friday morning.

Peleg, a resident of Kfar Saba, had devoted much of his life to aviation and trained generations of pilots over the years. He also worked as an entrepreneur.

The aircraft crashed in an open area near Highway 65 shortly after 9 a.m. Friday and burst into flames. Emergency crews rushed to the scene as the fire began spreading through nearby vegetation toward homes in Kafr Qara.

Peleg was trapped inside the aircraft and was pronounced dead at the scene.

A second man aboard the aircraft, in his 30s, was rescued with burns and evacuated to Rambam Medical Center in Haifa. His condition was initially described as serious, though the hospital later said he was in moderate condition.

According to a friend of Peleg, aviation had been his entire world. Peleg had recently recovered from a medical issue and was working toward renewing his pilot’s license. He was reportedly aboard Friday’s flight as a passenger.

Firefighters battled the blaze sparked by the crash and prevented it from reaching nearby homes.

The circumstances surrounding the crash remain under investigation.

(YWN’s Jerusalem desk is keeping you updated after tzeis ha’Shabbos in Israel)