Hellenic Air Force training jet crashes near Kalamata airbase

A search-and-rescue operation was initiated on Wednesday following the crash of a Hellenic Air Force T-2 Buckeye training jet near the Kalamata airbase in the Peloponnese. The pilot’s condition is currently unknown.

Reports suggest that an explosion was heard before the crash.

Further details are not yet available.

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.”