Phantom crash kills two Greek Air Force pilots during flying display

Two Greek Air Force pilots died when their Phantom fighter jet crashed during a display at the Athens Flying Week airshow. The F-4E Phantom II went down on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, at 2:55 p.m., about three nautical miles southeast of the 114th Combat Wing.

The aircraft belonged to the 338 Squadron of the 117th Combat Wing. It had been in the air for about two minutes and was making a right turn when it crashed. The circumstances remain unclear, and an official Air Force committee is investigating the accident.

The dead pilots were 40-year-old Squadron Leader Ioannis Blesias and 37-year-old Squadron Leader Dimitrios Petrou. Blesias came from Epitalio in Elis and followed his father Alkis, a retired technician at the 117th Combat Wing, into a life shaped by a passion for fighter aircraft. He leaves behind his wife and their five-year-old son.

Petrou’s death brought mourning to Pramanta, the village of his mother, and Polystafilo in Preveza, where his father’s family came from. The mayor of North Tzoumerka said Petrou would call his elderly grandmother whenever he planned to fly over Pramanta, telling her when to come outside so he could wave to her from the sky.

Petrou’s parents lived in Katsikas, Ioannina. He was due to baptize his five-month-old daughter. Defense Minister Nikos Dendias ordered three days of mourning in the Armed Forces through Monday, Sept. 7. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the state would stand beside the families, especially the two young children left behind.

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When he was going to fly over Pramanta, he would call his very elderly grandmother, Mrs. Stathoula, and tell her what time to come outside so she could see him and he could wave to her from the sky.