ATHENS – Israel confirmed today that the victim of a plane crash in Greece was a witness in a trial involving former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as Greek officials launched an inquiry.
Senior Greek air safety official Ioannis Kondylis said a fisherman who witnessed the incident near Samos Island yesterday claimed he heard two explosions, though the cause of the crash is not yet known.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry identified the victims of the Cessna C182 single-engine plane crash as Haim and Esther Giron, a 69-year-old Israeli couple from Tel Aviv.
Haim, the former deputy director at the Communications Ministry, was scheduled to testify in a trial involving Netanyahu, the Israeli prosecutor’s office told AFP.
Among several charges, Netanyahu is accused of giving regulatory favours to media moguls in exchange for favourable coverage.
Haim had been expected to testify on allegations that the former prime minister negotiated with a telecommunications firm to secure positive coverage in exchange for policies benefitting the company.
The Greek civil aviation agency said the four-seater plane had taken off from Haifa on a private flight and disappeared from radar shortly before its scheduled landing at Samos airport.
Kondylis, head of the state air accident investigation and aviation safety board, said today that a team of specialists will fly to Samos tomorrow to inspect the wreckage.
“A fisherman said there was a large explosion, followed by a smaller one,” Kondylis told AFP.
“The wreckage will show if that’s the case,” Kondylis said, adding that the wreckage was around 33m underwater.
The wreckage’s location is 2km south of the airport, he said.
He added that he is “hopeful” there will be more clarity on the causes of the crash over the next two weeks. – AFP, September 14, 2021
