A Hellenic Air Force North American T-2E Buckeye training jet of the 363rd Air Training Squadron of the 120th Air Training Wing crashed shortly after take-off just off the base fence at Kalamata AF Base in Southern Greece.
The 40-year-old Major Epaminondas Kosteas sole pilot died in the crash. The accident happened on the last flight of 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.
Reports suggest that an explosion was heard before the crash.
A Hellenic Air Force North American T-2E Buckeye training jet of the 363rd Air Training Squadron of the 120th Air Training Wing crashed shortly after take-off just off the base fence at Kalamata AF Base in Southern Greece.
The 40-year-old Major Epaminondas Kosteas sole pilot died in the crash. The accident happened on the last flight of 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.
Reports suggest that an explosion was heard before the crash.
Speaking to Kathimerini.gr, Grigoris Kostopoulos, the president of the local community of Aris, mentioned that he was in the vicinity when the crash happened.
“A noise was heard, a mushroom-shaped cloud formed, and a fire broke out. I was near the scene at that time and promptly notified the Fire Department,” he said.
Kostopoulos added that the police, fire service, and army have since arrived at the crash site.
The T-2, a twin-engine training aircraft built in the United States, serves as the sole training jet aircraft for the Hellenic Air Force, primarily utilized in the concluding phase of young pilots’ training. These T-2s are stationed at the Kalamata airbase’s 120 Air Training Wing and are part of the 362 Squadron “Nestor” and 363 Squadron “Danaos.”
