Greek Pilot Killed as Air Force Training Jet Crashes Near Kalamata

A Greek Air Force pilot was killed on Wednesday when his training jet crashed in the countryside near the southern town of Kalamata, Greece.

The crash occurred outside an air base. The two-seater T-2 aircraft was carrying only one crew member and crashed as it was landing.

The accident happened on the last flight of 40-year-old Major Epaminondas Kosteas before he was due to take leave.

Unconfirmed reports say that his wife and only child were in the area to salute his sortie. A committee of experts is investigating the reasons for the accident.

National Defense Minister Nikos Dendias declared three days of mourning in the armed forces from Wednesday until Friday for the fatal injury in the line of duty of the Squadron Leader.

The U.S.-made T-2 Buckeye first flew in the late 1950s and has served as the Greek Air Force’s main training plane for decades. It had been scheduled to be withdrawn from service in the coming months.

In 1956, the US Navy issued a requirement for a jet-powered basic trainer to replace its T-28 piston-engined aircraft. It entered service in 1959, beginning the replacement process of the Lockheed T2V SeaStar and was itself replaced by the McDonnell Douglas T-45 Goshawk in 2008.

Greek pilots fall in the line of duty

In July, the captain and co-pilot of a firefighting airplane in Greece were both killed when their aircraft crashed on the island of Evia while attempting to put out a wildfire.

Flight Lt. Christos Moulas, 34, and Second Lt. Periklis Stefanidis, 27, were on board the water-dousing aircraft which belonged to the 355 Tactical Transport Squadron, part of the 112 Combat Wing at Elefsina Air Base.

In February 2023, 31-year-old Captain Efstathios Tsitlakidis was killed when the F-4E Phantom II crashed during a training exercise in the Ionian Sea.  Co-pilot, Lieutenant Marios Touroutsikas, 29, also died in the accident.

Greece remembers Giorgos Baltadoros, the fighter pilot who died on April 12, 2018, when his Mirage 2000-5 plane crashed into the Aegean after a mission intercepting Turkish jets which had violated Greek airspace.

Seventeen years ago, pilot Konstantinos Iliakis joined those Greek military personnel who over the years fell in the line of duty while protecting the country. It was May 23, 2006 when the 35-year-old Hellenic Air Force pilot lost his life as his plane crashed on Karpathos island in the Dodecanese. He had been trying to intercept Turkish fighter jets which had entered Greek airspace over the Aegean.

These incidents and many others are a reminder of the risks that pilots face every day. They are also a testament to the bravery and dedication of these men and women who put their lives on the line to protect their country.