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 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.
Video showing the crash.
Never forget how difficult it is to fly these aircraft on the edge of their capabilities. Regardless of the outcome the crew are heroes.https://t.co/9OGvlVOAma
— MechDesign.xyz (@MechDesignxyz) September 5, 2026
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.
A HAF F-4 Phantom II just crashed at the Athens Fling Week airshow. We can only hope for the best, but I saw no parachutes. He hit the ground coming out of a turn. pic.twitter.com/JtW4YdPJ5x
— Sova
(@sovva1_1) September 5, 2026
A Greek F-4E AUP Phantom has just crashed during its display at Athens Flying Week 2026. No chutes.
Godspeed. pic.twitter.com/7nyuhE2AWL
— Angad Singh (@zone5aviation) September 5, 2026
The aircraft had performed a rehearsal flight during the Media Day on Sept. 4.
Athens Flying Week 2026 rehearsal&media day pic.twitter.com/MwKM03rO11
— Wang Shao-Hsiang (@hsiangwang324) September 4, 2026
There was no information from the HAF or the Greek Ministry of Defence at the time of writing.
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.
AirShow w Grecji F4 Phantom sie rozwalił. Pilot nie żyje pic.twitter.com/zB9GVBniqQ
— Roman_P
(@RomanP314) September 5, 2026
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.
BREAKING: A Hellenic Air Force F-4 Phantom has crashed during an aerial display at Athens Flying Week in Tanagra, Greece.
The twin-seat aircraft went down during Saturday’s show, sending a massive column of black smoke into the sky in front of thousands of spectators.…
— XPRESS (@Xpress_24_7) September 5, 2026
It is also a future F-35A Lightning II operator, currently considering expanding its order apart from the 20 its has already contracted.
Yunanistan’daki Athens Flying Week’te Yunan Hava Kuvvetleri’ne ait F-4 Phantom, Tanagra Hava Üssü’ndeki gösteri uçuşunda düştü.
Savaş uçağının ardından gökyüzünü kaplayan yoğun siyah duman kameralara böyle yansıdı. pic.twitter.com/T2RhdAv3Or
— herdem_aviation (@muratherdemm) September 5, 2026
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