The anxiety is at its peak for the two operators of the Phantom F-4 of the 338th Hellenic Air Force Squadron which crashed in the sea area south of Andravida, this morning. The warplane crashed while performing a training flight, while according to the first information, its two pilots did not have time to abandon it.
The two operators of the lost Phantom are a HAF captain and a lieutenant colonel. To locate the two pilots, two AB-205 helicopters of the Hellenic Air Force (one from Andravida and the other from Kalamata), an S-70 helicopter of the Navy are searching from the air, while a C-130 is also on maximum alert.
From the side of the Coast Guard, it became known that four boats, one lifeguard and two private boats are engaged in the search.
Parallel to the area of the aircraft crash, boats are moving based on the instructions of the Unified Search and Rescue Coordination Center
The two-seat F-4 was accompanied by another Phantom, and was number 2 of the formation of two Phantoms performing the training flight. The second Phantom that the downed F-4 was training with was located over the crash site and participated in the initial search but left because it was running out of fuel.
According to the same sources, the F-4 operators were in “low navigation”, a term meaning low flight with a minimum of 300 feet. The depth, however, at the point of fall of the F-4 is 1,000 meters.
The Air Force was alerted shortly after 10:30 when it was informed of the fall of the F-4 in the sea area off Andravida.
