Aviation SafetyMilitary Aviation

Greek F-4 Phantom Crashes During Airshow Near Athens

Published on: September 5, 2026 at 3:22 PM CEST
David Cenciotti David Cenciotti
Parth Satam Parth Satam
F-4 crash
HAF F-4 Phantom. The inset is a screenshot from a Youtube video by @mjtspotter showing the moment of the crash at Tanagra on Sept. 5, 2026. (Image credit: Composite image created using HAF and @mjtspotter images)

An F-4AUP Phantom of the Hellenic Air Force crashed during a flying display part of Athens Flying Week. There are no signs of the pilots ejecting.

On Sept. 5, 2026, at around 15.00 LT, an Hellenic Air Force F-4 Phantom (01504) crashed at Tanagra Air Base, near Athens. Videos shared online show the aircraft impacting the ground and exploding into flames close to the airport. While the status of the aircrew has not been disclosed yet, the footage does not show the two aircrew members ejecting from the aircraft.

According to the reports, the aircraft crashed during the first 2 minutes of its display and the impact reportedly occurred outside the runway in the industrial zone of Tanagra, near factories, which were closed at the time of the incident.

Clips shared online show the aircraft flying at low altitude and high speed and then turning towards the runway. Then, the jet lost altitude and crashing into trees, close to the runway.

The aircraft had performed a rehearsal flight during the Media Day on Sept. 4. 

There was no information from the HAF or the Greek Ministry of Defence at the time of writing. Following the crash, Minister of National Defense Nikos Dendias left Tanagra and returned urgently to Athens.

The HAF is one of the last operational Phantom operators in the world, flying 17 of the airframes (as per the last count by Dec. 2025, now down to 16 following the crash). The jets are assigned to the 338 Mira of the 117 Combat Wing. The country also celebrates the European Phantom Conference (PhanCon), bringing aviation enthusiasts from around the world to the Andravida Air Base.

Other Phantom operators are the Turkish Air Force (TuAF) and the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) – the latter sparingly flying their highly sanctioned and part-starved jets with local fixes and some smuggling. The HAF is also an F-16V Viper operator, with Lockheed Martin announcing on Sep. 5, having delivered 59 of the jets.

It is also a future F-35A Lightning II operator, currently considering expanding its order apart from the 20 its has already contracted.

The Hellenic Air Force released an official statement about the incident, confirming the two crew members were killed.

On Saturday, September 5, 2026 at 14:55, an F-4E Phantom II aircraft of the 338th Squadron of the 117th Fighter Wing, which was participating in the “Athens Flying Week 2026” Airshow, crashed 3 nautical miles southeast of the 114th Fighter Wing, resulting in the fatal injuries of the two crew members, First Lieutenant (I) I.M. and First Lieutenant (I) D.P.

The causes of the accident are being investigated by a competent Air Force committee.

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By David Cenciotti
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David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.
By Parth Satam
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Parth Satam's career spans a decade and a half between two dailies and two defense publications. He believes war, as a human activity, has causes and results that go far beyond which missile and jet flies the fastest. He therefore loves analyzing military affairs at their intersection with foreign policy, economics, technology, society and history. The body of his work spans the entire breadth from defense aerospace, tactics, military doctrine and theory, personnel issues, West Asian, Eurasian affairs, the energy sector and Space.
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