Greek fighter jets collide in mid-air, pilot killed

[dee]

Two Greek fighter jets collided in mid-air on Thursday, the defence ministry said, killing one of the pilots and leaving two other crew injured.

The collision between the two F-16 planes, a one- and two-seater respectively, happened south of the island of Crete during training in air fighting involving six aircraft, the air force high command said.

A fisherman engaged in a search of the area found the body of one pilot a few hours later, state television reported.

The two others were plucked from the sea after ejecting, one of them with serious injuries to his head and one lung.

The jets were from Souda air force base in the northwest of Crete, the defence ministry said.

Greek fighter pilots are in constant readiness over the Aegean Sea due to frequent incursions by Turkish aircraft into Greek-controlled airspace disputed by Turkey.

In a similar incident in 2006, a Greek pilot was killed when his plane collided with a Turkish jet during one of the regular mock dogfights in the area.



Greek fighter jets collide in mid-air, pilot killed

 

[Jigs]

RIP to the pilot. My respects to his family.

 

[greatsequence]

RIP. Pretty strange though.

 

[Jigs]

RIP. Pretty strange though.

Mock Dogfights get really aggressive. There are videos on youtube of Turkish and Greek ones where they are always in gun range. I wonder if the aircraft were Mirage or F-16s.

 

[mjnaushad]

Rest in peace....

 

[Patriot]

Mock Dogfights get really aggressive. There are videos on youtube of Turkish and Greek ones where they are always in gun range. I wonder if the aircraft were Mirage or F-16s.

F16C and F16D.

 

[BATMAN]

2 Greek F-16s collide in mid-air

August 26, 2010 (by Jason) - Two Greek F-16s have collided in mid-air off the South Western coast of Crete, near the island of Chryssi on Thursday.
The F-16s involved were a single-seater and one a double-seater and had been involved been part of a formation of four planes on a training mission when they collided.

The crew of the double-seater Captain Iosif Anastasakis,35, and Lieutenant Paulos Botzakis, 25 managed to eject and were recovered by a local fishing boat.

Unfortunately, the body of the third pilot Captain Anastasios Balatsoukas, 33, was recovered from the sea more than two hours after the crash.

Eyewitness on the island of Chryssi reported a huge flash in the sky, the pilots rocketing from there airplanes and the jets falling into the sea. According to local new agencies the jets were partaking in dog fighting exercises when the accident occured.