Defense Minister pays tribute to Mirage pilot
Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos on Thursday expressed his condolences for the loss of the pilot of a Greek mirage that crashed off Skyros earlier in the day though the man's death was yet to be confirmed officially by the Hellenic Air Force.
"A Greek pilot in the pantheon of heroes," Kammenos wrote on his Twitter account, noting that the airman fell "while fighting to defend our national sovereignty and our territorial integrity."
"The country bows before him in mourning," Kammenos added, sending his condolences for the pilot's relatives.
The Mirage went down off the coast of Skyros shortly after noon on returning from a mission to intercept Turkish fighter jets in the eastern Aegean, source said.