Astronaut’s son dies in air crash

THE son of an Israeli astronaut who died in the space shuttle Columbia disaster six years ago was killed yesterday when his F-16 warplane crashed on a routine training flight, the Israeli military said.

The military identified the dead pilot as Lt Asaf Ramon, son of Ilan Ramon, Israel’s first and only astronaut. Ilan Ramon was one of the seven crew members killed when the Columbia exploded as it re-entered the atmosphere.

A former fighter pilot who took part in Israel’s bombing of an Iraqi nuclear reactor in 1981, Ilan Ramon had been the payload specialist on the 2003 space flight. He is seen in Israel as a national hero, and Israeli radio and TV stations broke into their broadcasts to report the news of his son’s death.