Greek F-4 Phantom crashes at Athens Flying Week, killing two pilots

A Hellenic Air Force F-4E Phantom II crashed at 2:55 p.m. on 5 September during Athens Flying Week at Tanagra Air Base, north of Athens. Both crew members died. The air force identified them as Squadron Leader Ioannis Blesias, 40, from Pyrgos in the western Peloponnese, and Flight Lieutenant Dimitrios Petrou, 37, who lived in Patras. Blesias leaves a five-year-old son. Petrou leaves a five-month-old daughter whose baptism had been set for 12 September.

The jet belonged to the 338th Squadron of the 117th Fighter Wing. It went down about three nautical miles southeast of the 114th Fighter Wing, outside the runway box and about two kilometres from the airfield. Public broadcaster ERT showed the aircraft in a right turn a few metres above the ground before it hit and caught fire. An eyewitness told ERT the Phantom had not been airborne more than three minutes. Loudspeakers told the crowd to leave.

Thousands of spectators were on the field. Officials told Reuters no bystanders or nearby residents were injured. Eighty-five firefighters and 11 water-dropping aircraft and helicopters worked a fire that spread into woods. The air force said a service committee will investigate the cause. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the sense of grief was widespread and called the crash a reminder of the daily risk Greek aviators accept.

The armed forces declared three days of mourning. Athens Flying Week had been listed for 5 and 6 September, with military and civilian teams from several countries. Saturday's display was in its opening minutes when the Phantom went in.

Greece has flown the F-4 since 1974. The Peace Icarus 2000 upgrade, also called the Avionics Upgrade Programme, put an AN/APG-65GR radar, new mission computers and a Litening II designator on the surviving jets. The 338th Squadron at Andravida is the last Phantom unit in Hellenic service. The type is more than 50 years old in Greek colours. It still flies strike and air-defence sorties because the air force has not yet fully replaced it.

Air-show crashes have a fixed grim arithmetic. The pilot is asked to fly a heavy jet low, slow enough for a crowd, and close enough for cameras. The F-4 is not a light aerobatic aircraft. A right turn at a few metres leaves no height to trade for airspeed if the nose drops. ERT's pictures will be part of the inquiry. So will maintenance records and the brief for that pass.

The two men were described by Greek outlets as experienced officers and young fathers. Those facts do not explain the crash. They explain why the mourning order came the same afternoon. The committee's job is narrower: what failed in those three minutes, and whether the remaining Phantoms should keep flying displays while the type stays on the line.

Sunday's programme at Tanagra was left to the air force to decide. The wreckage site is an investigation scene. The 338th Squadron is short two pilots and one airframe.