A Greek air force pilot was killed on Monday January 30 and another is missing after their F-4 Phantom fighter jet crashed in the Ionian Sea (west), according to the general staff. of the Greek Air Force.
“
An F-4 Phantom two-seater plane crashed during an Air Force training flight 25 nautical miles south of Andravida military airport
,” in western Greece, “
causing the death of the co-pilot
”, indicated in a press release the staff of the air force.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said he was "
dismayed
" and expressed "
his sincere condolences
" to the family of 29-year-old Lieutenant Marios-Michail Touroutsikas.
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Rescue helicopters and coastguard patrol boats were sent to search for the pilots, and the co-pilot's body was discovered six hours after the plane went down, according to a source at the general staff.
The search continued Monday afternoon to find the pilot.
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American-made F-4 Phantoms are among the oldest aircraft in the Greek Air Force.
Greece acquired its first Phantoms in 1974 and last upgraded them some 20 years ago.
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