BSS
  30 Jan 2023, 23:31

Greek pilot killed in jet training fall

ATHENS, Jan  30, 2023 (BSS/AFP) - A Greek airforce pilot was killed Monday
and a second was missing after their aged two-seat F-4 Phantom jet went down in
the Ionian Sea, officials said.

The air force said the jet had fallen 25 nautical miles (46 kilometres)
south of Andravida military airport in western Greece during a training flight.

Rescue helicopters and coastguard patrol boats were dispatched to search
for the pilots, the statement added.

Some six hours after the fall, the air force said it had recovered the body
of the co-pilot, but was still looking for the pilot.

The US-made F-4 Phantoms are among the oldest equipment in Greece's
arsenal.

Greece acquired its first Phantoms in 1974 and last upgraded them some two
decades ago.

The model originally dates from the 1960s.