Lieutenant Colonel (Res.) Yuval Inbar, aged 50, from Hagor, and Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) Itai Talmi, aged 70 from Kibbutz Hasolelim, have been identified as the victims of the light aircraft crash in the Jezreel Valley.
Inbar, a former fighter pilot and squadron commander, is survived by his wife and three children. He is currently an active reservist.
The Southern Sharon Regional Council stated: "Yuval, married to Lou, and father of Liah, Shalev, and Nevo, worked for years with dedication, responsibility, and a sense of mission for the security of the State of Israel and its citizens."
Council Head Oshrat Gani Gonen eulogized: "My heart is with the Inbar family and with the Hagor community at this difficult time. Yuval was a man of values, a true citizen, a beloved and dedicated family man who, for many years, dedicated himself to significant and extraordinary work for the security of the State of Israel. This is a huge loss to his family, friends, and the entire community."
Itai Talmi is survived by his wife, three children, and seven grandchildren. He served for decades as an IAF fighter pilot, served in several senior positions in the force, and later worked as a pilot for El-Al.
The crash occurred on Sunday morning. The light plane went down in an open area near Tel Adashim in the Afula area. The two victims were evacuated from the scene in critical condition to the Emek Hospital in Afula, where they were pronounced dead.
MDA paramedic Maor Atedagi said, "This is a serious incident. We arrived at the scene with ambulances, intensive care vehicles, and immediate response motorcycles. They led us through the field to the plane that crashed. The plane had severe damage to the fuselage and two men were lying nearby."
Atedagi added, "They were unconscious, without a pulse and not breathing. We immediately began performing advanced CPR and evacuated them in MDA intensive care units to the hospital in critical condition."