Avner Yarkoni

Avner Yarkoni was born in 1957 in Kiryat Tiv'on

Avner Yarkoni was born in Kiryat Tiv'on on December 18, 1957. His parents were both born in Jerusalem. His father fought as an officer in the War of Independence, and his mother worked as a nurse at Hadassah Mount Scopus. He grew up in Neve Sha'anan in Haifa and studied in the science track.

He joined the pilots' course in 1976 and became a fighter pilot in 1977. He served as a Skyhawk and Kfir pilot and later flew the F-16. He left regular service in 1987 and kept flying in the reserves until 2013.

He earned law degrees from Tel Aviv University and became a lawyer in 1991. He worked as a prosecutor in the Military Advocate General's office and was Central Command's military advocate from 1995 to 1998. From 1998 to 2001 he headed the Civil Aviation Administration.

In 2001 he opened a law firm focused on aviation. He also flew Boeing 747 cargo planes for KAL and comments on aviation accidents. He is married to Dalit Ofer, and they have 3 children.

In 2015 he was diagnosed with a rare form of dystonia linked to years of high G flying. After months of treatment in South Korea he returned to full function.