Shalits with Netanyahu and Barak
Shalits with Netanyahu and BarakIsrael news photo: Flash 90

The son of navigator Ron Arad, missing for 25 years and presumed dead, closed a personal circle by flying Gilad Shalit home last week.

Lt. Col. R., son of Yishai Aviram, asked and received permission from Air Force Commander Brigadier General Ido Nehushtan, to fly Shalit to his home in Mitzpe Hila last week.

“R” treated Shalit, at his request, to a second circling of his home and flag-waving crowds before landing.

Yishai Aviram and Ron Arad parachuted from the damaged plane during a bombing mission in the First Lebanese War. A bomb explosion wounded Aviram and Arad, his navigator, but Aviram realized that terrorists would be waiting for them on the ground and he steered his parachute away from the area while Arad, who probably was not totally conscious, landed in the hands of Amal terrorists.

The terrorist organization has refused to disclose his fate, claiming it does not know.  

Aviram was rescued in a dramatic helicopter rescue mission.

The video of the rescue shows him holding on to the skis of the helicopter. The view, shown by the Israel Broadcast Authority, was included in a special report two years ago prior to a Lebanese program on Arad.