Greek military authorities confirmed Wednesday that the pilot of the downed plane died two days after the F-4 fighter crashed in the Ionian Sea during an exercise.
A Hellenic Air Force (HAF) statement said analysis of evidence from the crash site confirmed that 31-year-old Captain Efstathios Tsitlakidis died in the crash.
Co-pilot Marios Touroutsikas, 29, was confirmed dead after his body was recovered from the wreckage of the plane on Monday. Authorities were still investigating the cause of the crash.
The airmen had reportedly sounded a distress signal and were about to leave the plane when it crashed. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the Hellenic Air Force and all of Greece were in mourning.
The F-4E Phantom II fighter of the Greek Air Force crashed in the Ionian Sea.
— 301 Military (@301military) January 30, 2023
According to preliminary information, the pilots did not have time to eject. pic.twitter.com/yIjGHCWOPn
“The news of the death of Commander Efstathios Tsitlakides, followed by that of Deputy Commander Marios-Michail Turoutsikas, makes national mourning even heavier. Our fighter pilot went down with his co-pilot on duty, serving the country. My thoughts are with their families. The Air Force and all of Greece are in mourning. They mourn and honor.”
National Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos announced a three-day mourning period in the country’s armed forces on Monday. The last time an F-4 Phantom crashed in Greece was on Mount Parnassus on June 15, 2004. Both pilots lost their lives. Investigations revealed that the plane crashed due to an extreme maneuver carried out as part of a training exercise.
The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom is a twin-engine, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range, supersonic interceptor and fighter bomber originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy. Demonstrating great adaptability, it entered service with the Navy in 1961 before being adopted by the United States Marine Corps and United States Air Force, and by the mid-1960s it had become a major part of its air weapons.
Production of the Phantom ran from 1958 to 1981 with a total of 5,195 aircraft built, making it the most-produced American supersonic military aircraft in history and cementing its position as an iconic Cold War fighter aircraft.
