F-4 Phantom crashes at the Athens Flying Week air show in Tanagra upd

A Greek F-4 Phantom fighter jet crashed at the Athens Flying Week 2026 airshow in Tanagra. Information about the fate of the crew at the time of publication is being clarified.

The accident happened on Saturday September 5during the first day of the international airshow Athens Flying Week – Tanagra International Air Show 2026 at Tanagra Air Force Base.

According to initial reports from eyewitnesses and videos circulating on social networks, the double F-4 Phantom crashed shortly after the start of his exhibition performance.

After the plane crashed, he rose above the disaster area a large column of thick black smoke. Firefighters and other emergency services immediately rushed to the scene.

At the time of writing, official information about the condition of the two crew members had not been confirmed. The first eyewitness reports also did not contain reliable information about the pilots ejecting.

One of the last performances of the legendary Phantom

What makes the incident especially tragic is that the participation of the F-4 Phantom was announced by the organizers as one of the last public appearances of these aircraft in Greece before their gradual decommissioning.

Official website Athens Flying Week called the F-4 Phantom one of the main participants in the current air show program in advance.

The organizers reported that F-4 Phantom, F-16 Viper, Rafale, Mirage 2000-5, M-346, F-16 Demo Team “Zeus”, T-6 “Daedalus”, as well as foreign aircraft and aerobatic teams were to perform at Athens Flying Week 2026.

F-4s remain in service with the Greek Air Force

Greece remains one of the few countries that continues to operate modernized F-4E AUP Phantom II. These vehicles are in service with the 338th Squadron, 117th Combat Wing at Andravida Air Base.

For the Greek Air Force, the Phantom has a special meaning: the first aircraft of this family were received by Greece back in 1974 and for almost half a century they remained one of the most recognizable machines of the national military aviation.

In 2023, another Greek F-4 Phantom crashed into the Ionian Sea during a training flight. Then both crew members died.

The Athens News reported in detail about the crash and the subsequent search for the pilots: “The search continues for the F-4 Phantom pilot.”.

We also talked about Greece’s plans to gradually phase out old types of combat aircraft, including the Phantom: “N. Dendias: we sell F-4, Mirage 2000-5 and F-16 Block 30”.

What is known so far

According to preliminary information:

• the crash occurred at an airbase tanager during Athens Flying Week;
• crashed two-seater F-4E AUP Phantom II Hellenic Air Force;
• the accident occurred in the first minutes of the demonstration flight;
• Emergency services are on site;
• Official information about the fate of the crew is awaited.

The material is updated as official information becomes available.

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