Greek F-4 Crashes at Athens Air Show
Greek F-4 Crashes at Athens Air Show
The News
A Greek air force F-4 Phantom crashed Saturday while flying a solo display at the Athens Flying Week air show, in front of several thousand spectators at Tanagra air force base north of Athens.
Officials said it was not immediately clear whether the pilots managed to eject before the jet went down, and no parachutes were visible after the crash. A search and rescue operation was under way.
The wreck came down a few hundred metres from the crowd. There were no immediate reports of injuries among spectators.
Timeline
The twin-seat Phantom begins its solo display at Athens Flying Week, the annual air show held at Tanagra air force base.
Local media reported the jet came down soon after beginning its routine. Eyewitnesses told the Greek outlet Oema that smoke streamed from the aircraft before it suddenly lost altitude and plummeted to the ground.
Footage showed plumes of thick black smoke rising from the crash site a few hundred metres from the crowd. Initial reports said the aircraft was cut in two, with fire igniting in two separate places.
Around 85 firefighters were deployed in 23 emergency vehicles, with seven aircraft and four helicopters mobilised to fight the blaze from the air. Two helicopters were seen battling the fire on the spot, and a water-dropping helicopter hovered over the site.
Loudspeakers at the air base urged people to leave the area, according to Greek broadcaster ERT. Organisers began clearing the site and suspended the show.
Reactions
Air force officials said it was not immediately clear whether the pilots had ejected, and that it was also unclear whether anyone in the crowd had been hurt. "A search and rescue operation is under way," an official said.
Spectators described a stunned, horrified crowd watching smoke billow into the sky. Video of the crash circulated widely on social media within minutes.
Greek public broadcaster ERT reported the crash, which was picked up by Reuters and by British outlets including The Sun and the Daily Mail.
What's Next
The rest of Saturday's program at Athens Flying Week has been cancelled.
Rescuers are working the crash site, and the condition of the two-man crew has not been officially confirmed. Any casualty figures — for the crew or the crowd — will come from the Greek air force.
Investigators will have to establish why the Phantom lost altitude moments into its display, with the smoke reported by eyewitnesses before the crash an early line of inquiry.
More
Athens Flying Week is an annual air show staged at Tanagra air force base. The aircraft involved Saturday was a twin-seat F-4 Phantom flying a solo routine.
Not the first air show crash this year
In May, two U.S. Navy Boeing EA-18G Growlers collided in midair during the Gunfighter Skies show about two miles northwest of Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho. Both jets went down; the pilots ejected, deployed their parachutes and survived.
Poll
Should military jets still perform low-level displays over crowds at air shows?
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