F-4 Phantom Fighter Jet Crashed in Greece

Athens Flying Week 2026, held in Greece, was shaken by a fatal warplane crash. The two-seater F-4E Phantom II of the Hellenic Air Force crashed while maneuvering at low altitude during a demonstration flight at Tanagra Air Base on September 5.

After the accident, a huge fire broke out in the area, and dense black smoke covered the sky. It was reported that there were no injuries among the audience watching the show during the incident.

Eyewitnesses and images of the moment of the incident show that the Phantom was flying at low altitude, then rapidly lost altitude and hit the ground. It was reported that after the impact, the plane broke apart and a fire broke out at two different points.

In the first information conveyed by Greece's state broadcaster ERT, it was stated that the plane suddenly lost altitude and crashed around Tanagra Air Base.

The exact cause of the accident has not been disclosed yet.

In the first hours, the Greek Air Force did not provide information about the condition of the two personnel on the plane, and a search and rescue operation was launched in the region. The conditions in the fire and debris area made it difficult for the teams to intervene.

Later Greek sources reported that both pilots on the plane lost their lives. It was reported that the pilots served within the 117th Combat Wing of the Greek Air Force.

Following the accident, the Athens Flying Week event was suspended and the evacuation of spectators from the area began.

Approximately 85 firefighters and 23 vehicles were dispatched to the incident area, while airplanes and helicopters were also used to control the fire. According to the information provided by AP, the fire was kept away from the audience in the show area.

Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias also changed his schedule to go to the region after the accident.

Greece started taking F-4 Phantoms into its inventory in the 1970s. Later, some of the aircraft underwent comprehensive modernization within the scope of the Peace Icarus 2000 program.

Within the scope of modernization, the aircraft were equipped with AN/APG-65 radar, new mission computers, GPS/INS navigation system and modern cockpit systems. Greece is among the countries that continue to use Phantoms operationally, although in limited numbers.

As the use of F-4s in Greece comes to an end, the country is modernizing its air force mainly with newer generation platforms such as Rafale, F-16 Viper and Eurofighter.

An F-4 Phantom also crashed in 2023.

On January 30, 2023, a two-seater F-4E Phantom II performing a training flight crashed into the Ionian Sea, approximately 46 kilometers south of Andravida Air Base. Pilot Captain Efstathios Tsitlakidis and co-pilot Lieutenant Marios-Mihail Touroutsikas lost their lives in the accident.

Therefore, the latest accident in Tanagra has brought to the fore the safety of the old Phantom fleet currently used by the Greek Air Force and the process of decommissioning the remaining aircraft.

After the investigation into the cause of the accident is completed, it is expected that the technical or operational factors that led to the crash of the plane will become clear.