Aircraft

An Israeli air force Lockheed Martin F-16A fighter crashed in south-eastern Israel on 13 September, killing its pilot. Lt Asaf Ramon was the son of late Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon, who died in the Columbia Space Shuttle disaster in 2003.

Ramon was practising dogfighting with another F-16 at the time of the accident. The lead pilot lost visual contact with his aircraft at about 13:45 local time, when the pair were at an altitude of around 18,000ft (5,490m). Witnesses saw Ramon's fighter hit the ground shortly afterwards.

The Israeli air force has launched an investigation into the cause of the loss.

Ramon was involved in a separate incident several months ago, when his Douglas A-4 Skyhawk suffered an engine cut-off during a training sortie from the air force's flight academy. He and the flight instructor managed to restart the engine and land safely.