The death of three Israeli civilian flyers in a plane crash in the sea near Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Monday, was confirmed here today. They were identified in reports from London and Brussels as Itzhak Peled and Efraim Bar-Erez, both pilots, and Shimon Harouzi, a flight engineer.
They were ferrying an executive jet from Lagos, Nigeria to London when, according to the reports, they ran into bad weather and were granted permission to land at Abidjan. The jet circled over the sea to make its approach but hit the water and was destroyed. There were no survivors. Abidjan radio reported the crash on Monday but did not indicate that the victims were Israel is.
Peled, 27, was the son of Gen. Moshe Peled, commander of Israel’s armored corps, and was only recently discharged from the army. Bar-Erez was the chief pilot of Arkia, Israel’s domestic air line. He was in the news last November when he successfully landed a disabled plane with three other Israelis aboard in the sea off Nice on the French Riviera. Harouzi was also employed by Arkia. Arrangements are being made to have the bodies returned to Israel for burial.
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