One of the two operators on board was found dead. The phantom that fell Monday morning in the maritime area south of your airport Andravidas.

According to the statement of the Main Aviation Staff, the search for the co-pilot continues.

“On Monday, January 30, 2023, at 10:30 a.m., a two-seat F-4 Phantom II aircraft of the 338th Squadron, 117th Fighter Wing, performing a training flight, crashed in the sea 25 nautical miles south of the airport Andravidas, as a result of which the co-pilot, second in command (I) Marios – Michael Turutsika, aged 29, was mortally wounded. The investigation continues in relation to Captain Sminagos (I) Efstathios Tsitlakidis, aged 31.”

Chronicle of the Fall of the Ghost

The Phantom was performing a training scenario, performing a “small cruise flight” (300 ft/100 m) paired with another aircraft of the same type.

Under unspecified circumstances, it crashed in the sea area south of the Andravida airport. At noon, the wreckage of the plane was found.

The fact that another fighter jet was escorting him also led to the immediate location of the crash site. After all, the second “Phantom” immediately after the fall remained in place and therefore the reaction to the rescue operation was immediate, since the first helicopter took off in a few minutes.

Two Air Force AB-205 helicopters, a Navy S-70 helicopter, as well as Coast Guard ships flew into the area, and the C-130 is also on maximum alert.

Three days of mourning in the Armed Forces

Three days of military mourning from today until February 2, 2023 was declared in the Armed Forces by order of the Minister of National Defense Nikos Panagiotopoulos after the crash of the Phantom.

The Minister of National Defense said in a statement: “While the search for the captain continues, we express our sadness and grief at the loss of the co-pilot following the crash of a fighter jet during an exercise in Andravida. Our thoughts are with the family of the lieutenant pilot, to whom we express our support and sincere condolences.”