Greek Air Force jet crashes at airshow, sparking forest fire
A Greek Air Force F-4 Phantom jet crashed during an airshow north of Athens on Saturday in front of thousands of spectators, with the resulting fire spreading into forest land.
A Greek Air Force aircraft crashed on Saturday during the annual Athens Flying Week airshow, held at the Tanagra air base north of Athens. The incident was reported by the outlet Kathimerini, as cited by "European Pravda".
The two-seat F-4 Phantom fighter jet suddenly began losing altitude and hit the ground while coming out of a turn, in view of thousands of spectators. It remains unknown whether the pilots managed to eject — footage shared on social media by an eyewitness showed no visible parachutes.
No reports of injuries among spectators emerged immediately after the crash. The impact sparked a fire that spread into a nearby wooded area. Authorities mobilized 85 firefighters and 23 pieces of equipment to contain the blaze.
Recent similar incidents
The crash follows several other military aviation accidents in recent weeks. On August 24, a Hungarian Armed Forces Gripen fighter crashed near the city of Szolnok, though its pilot successfully ejected. On August 17, a French Air and Space Force Cirrus SR-20 training aircraft crashed in Salon-de-Provence, in France's Bouches-du-Rhône department, during a training flight.
