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 officials said, adding that the Phantom crashed about two kilometres 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 erupted into a 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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