The body of Capt. Yitzhak Fuchs, pilot of the El Al cargo plane which crashed in Amsterdam last week, was identified there Wednesday by Israeli forensic experts working with Netherlands investigation teams.
His body, together with that of the plane’s flight engineer, Gedalyah Sofer, previously identified, was to be flown back to Israel later this week for burial here.
The body of 1st Officer Arnon Ohad has not yet been identified, but the funerals of the two men identified, and a joint memorial service for the three El Al members, was expected to be held early next week.
The funeral of Anat Levy Salomon, wife of an El Al security official in Amsterdam, was held in the Holon cemetery Thursday afternoon. She had been returning to Israel as the plane’s sole passenger when it crashed.
Engine No. 3, whose malfunction reportedly caused the crash, was found Thursday by search teams in a lake near the crash site, according to reports from Amsterdam. Engine No. 4 was found soon after the disaster. The plane was missing both engines on its right side before it plummeted to the ground, witnesses said.
Experts said discovery of the second engine will help solve the mystery of what caused the crash.
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