Tanagra F-4 Phantom Crash: Investigators Examine Every Scenario as Two Pilots Die Saving Spectators

Greece has fallen into deep mourning after an F-4 Phantom crashed at Tanagra, killing two experienced pilots during a flight demonstration. The pilots reportedly kept the stricken aircraft under control until the final moment in an effort to prevent it from falling onto spectators.

A special Greek Air Force committee is collecting visual material and cockpit communications to determine what happened. The pilots, 40-year-old Wing Commander Ioannis Blesias and 37-year-old Squadron Leader Dimitris Petrou, did not activate their ejection system, according to the report.

The aircraft was flying at an altitude of 300 feet and a speed of 500 kilometers per hour. Experts have ruled out human error because of the pilots' extensive experience. The main line of inquiry is whether the aircraft ingested birds, causing a loss of power. Spectators said they saw a fireball at the rear of the aircraft.

Investigators are also considering whether a powerful downdraft affected the fighter. A third possibility is vertigo, although the G-forces experienced by the pilots were low. The aircraft belonged to the 338 Squadron at Andravida and had undergone two upgrades, but its age meant it did not have a modern ground-collision avoidance system.

Defense Minister Nikos Dendias declared three days of mourning in the armed forces. The Archbishop of Athens and All Greece, Ieronymos, later held a memorial service for the pilots. Blesias leaves behind a wife and a five-year-old son. Petrou's wife gave birth to a daughter four months ago, and the child's baptism had been scheduled for the following Saturday.

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The pilots fought every day with outdated aircraft that should have been retired.