Israeli F-16 fighter jet crashes, pilot killed

September 13, 2009

Assaf Ramon, the pilot of an Israeli F-16 fighter jet, was killed on Sunday after his plane crashed in the West Bank, according to officials.

Ramon was the eldest son of Israel's astronaut Ilan Ramon, who was one of six people killed in the February 2003 Columbia space shuttle explosion.

The pilot's plane smashed into a hilly area near the city of Hebron, the Israeli military said, adding that the accident happened during a routine part of an advanced pilot course. Search and rescue have been dispatched to the area.

It was not immediately known what caused the jet to crash.