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🇬🇷 Greece /Disasters & Emergencies

Ioannis Blesias knew how to fly the Phantom better than drive his car, friend says

From Ta Nea · () Greek

Translated from Greek and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Outcome reported
  • A friend said Ioannis Blesias had loved aircraft since childhood and flew with a smile because he was happiest in the air.
  • The 2026 Athens Flying Week crash marked the deaths of two Air Force personnel and followed the loss of Blesias's close colleague in another aircraft crash three years earlier.
  • Greece declared three days of national mourning in the armed forces, while Blesias's family mourned the loss of a father who had a five-year-old son.

“He knew how to fly the Phantom better than he knew how to drive his car,” a close friend said of Ioannis Blesias, the 40-year-old Greek Air Force pilot whose death has left his family and colleagues grieving.

Blesias was one of two Air Force personnel killed when a fighter aircraft crashed during the 2026 Athens Flying Week, a private event at Tanagra airport. His friend said the tragedy carried a painful connection to Blesias's family: his father had once worked as a Phantom technician in the Air Force at Andravida, alongside the friend's uncles. As children, the two friends often visited the Phantom aircraft and grew up around them.

He knew how to fly the Phantom better than he knew how to drive his car.

· Ioannis Blesias's close friendThe friend used the phrase to describe Blesias's exceptional familiarity with the aircraft he loved.

The friend also recalled that Blesias had lost another close friend and colleague in an aircraft crash at Katakolo three years earlier. “Two young men, two friends, two colleagues lost in three years,” he said. “It is difficult because one story connects to the other.”

The airplane was his whole life, and in the end he followed what he wanted, what he loved.

· Ioannis Blesias's close friendThe friend recalled the pilot's lifelong passion for flying.

Blesias's love of aircraft began at school, when seeing a plane would immediately catch his attention. “The airplane was his whole life, and in the end he followed what he wanted, what he loved,” his friend said. He described Blesias as someone who went to work smiling and flew with the same happiness.

Greece declared three days of national mourning in the armed forces through Monday. The friend said Blesias had a five-year-old son and that there were no words capable of easing the family's pain. He last saw the pilot a few days earlier at the beach, where they joked, discussed football and found nothing to suggest the tragedy that would follow.

Two young men, two friends, two colleagues lost in three years. It is difficult because one story connects to the other.

· Ioannis Blesias's close friendHe compared Blesias's death with the earlier loss of another friend and colleague in an aircraft crash.
About this summary

Originally published by Ta Nea in Greek. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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