Fatal accident happened during Athens Flying Week event on 5 September.
Both crew members of a Greek air force McDonnell Douglas F-4E Phantom lost their lives when the aged fighter crashed during an air show display near the nation’s capital on 5 September.
One of a handful of remaining operational examples assigned to the Hellenic Air Force’s 338th Sqn at Andravida air base, the jet came down around 3nm (5km) outside the perimeter at Tanagra air base during the Athens Flying Week event. Video footage shows it rapidly losing height with a sharp bank angle to the left during a high-speed pass, before striking the ground.
The Aviation Safety Network identifies the crashed aircraft as having carried the service registration 01504, which aviation analytics company Cirium records as having entered use in March 1974.
“The causes of the accident are being investigated by an air force committee,” the air force says.
Meanwhile, the remainder of the 5-6 September show was cancelled following the crash.
Greece and Turkey are the only remaining western operators of the GE Aerospace J79-engined Phantom, with Cirium recording the NATO nations as now having 16 and 48 examples in use, respectively.
Iran is the only other nation to have the type in its inventory, although the majority of its aircraft are believed to have been destroyed during strikes conducted by US and Israeli forces early this year. Cirium data shows that the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force had around 65 Phantoms prior to the late-February launch of Washington’s Operation Epic Fury.
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