Greek F-4 crashes during air show near Athens, two pilots dead, sources say


People watch as smoke rises following the crash of a Greek F-4 Phantom fighter jet during the Athens Flying Week air show in Tanagra, Greece, September 5, 2026. Nikos Mitrousias/Intime via REUTERS

ATHENS, Sept 5 (Reuters) - ⁠A Greek two-seat F-4 Phantom fighter ⁠jet crashed on Saturday during an ‌air show at Tanagra air base north of Athens, killing the pilots, two officials told Reuters.

"Unfortunately the ​two pilots are dead," one ⁠of the officialssaid, adding ⁠that the Phantom crashed about twokilometres outside ⁠the ‌airport and there were no reports of injuries to any bystanders ⁠or residents in the wider area.

Footage from ​public broadcaster ‌ERT showed the F-4 performing a ⁠right turn ​a few meters above the ground seconds before it crashed and eruptedintoa fireball.Eleven firefighting ⁠aircraft and helicopters were operating to ​contain the fire that spread to the nearby forest.

"We were all stunned. It hadn't been ⁠airborne for more than three minutes," an eyewitness told ERT.

Loudspeakers at the air base were urging people to leave the ​area. The F-4 was participating ⁠in the Athens Flying Week, an annual ​event that attracts military ‌and civilian aviation teams from ​dozens of countries.

(Reporting by Lefteris PapadimasEditing by Tomasz Janowski and Toby Chopra)

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