Veteran Pilot and Tech Entrepreneur Dies in Plane Crash at 75

Eran Peleg, a 75-year-old resident of Kfar Saba, died Friday when his light aircraft crashed in the Wadi Ara region near Kfar Kara. A 33-year-old co-pilot was injured in the incident and taken to Rambam Hospital in Haifa, where his condition was initially reported as serious but later downgraded to moderate after evaluation.

The cause of the crash, which occurred in an open area and resulted in the plane being completely destroyed by fire, is under investigation by the police and the Aviation Accident Investigation and Prevention Bureau. The fire spread to a nearby grove and threatened homes in Kfar Kara before firefighters brought it under control.

Peleg was a former Air Force fighter pilot with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel (reserves). He later had a long career in technology and computing, serving as a flight instructor at the Sky Flight school. He was well-known among light aircraft pilots in Israel.

In 2020, Peleg co-founded Metafor, a model-driven development company, with Arkia pilot Iyad Badr. The company developed a product for simulating planned processes using flowcharts, with clients including Israel Aerospace Industries, the Air Force, and Mobileye. Metafor, which had seven employees and an office in Hurfeish, aimed to establish a high-tech employment hub in the Galilee region, enabling local engineers to work closer to home.

Peleg had expressed a commitment to keeping the company in Hurfeish to provide local employment, even in the event of significant business success. He described the venture as a way to integrate local residents into the tech field without requiring long commutes to central Israel.

The Sport Aviation Association announced Peleg's death with deep sorrow, remembering him as a family man, fighter pilot, engineer, flight instructor, and friend. Details regarding his funeral and the subsequent mourning period will be announced later. Reports indicate Peleg had been involved in training pilots for years, had stopped flying due to a medical issue, and was in the process of renewing his license when he joined the fatal flight as a passenger.