A Hellenic Air Force F-4 Phantom crashed on Saturday, September 5, during a flying display at the Athens Flying Week air show at Tanagra Air Base, north of Athens.

The two-seat aircraft was performing a low-altitude maneuver when it struck the ground near the airfield and caught fire. Video footage recorded by spectators shows the F-4 descending during a turn before impact. The two crew members were unable to eject and did not survive.

A Greek Air Force official confirmed the accident to Reuters. Emergency crews launched a search-and-rescue operation while firefighters worked to contain the fire caused by the crash. There were no reported injuries among spectators.

The accident occurred in front of several thousand people attending Athens Flying Week, which is being held at Tanagra on September 5 and 6.

One of the last Phantom operators

The aircraft was an F-4E AUP, the upgraded version of the Phantom still operated by the Hellenic Air Force. Greece is among a small number of countries that continue to fly the type more than six decades after the F-4 first entered service.

Greek Phantoms are operated by 338 Squadron from Andravida Air Base. The surviving aircraft underwent the Peace Icarus 2000 upgrade, which introduced new avionics, radar and other systems to extend their operational careers.

The appearance at Athens Flying Week was expected to be among the F-4's last at the event. Organizers had promoted the Phantom ahead of this year's show as making one of its final public appearances before retirement.

The F-4 has served with the Hellenic Air Force since 1974. Greece initially acquired the aircraft under the Peace Icarus program and subsequently added more examples, including former US Air Force and German aircraft.

Another Greek F-4E crashed into the Ionian Sea south of Andravida in January 2023 during a low-altitude training mission. Both crew members were killed.