The Hellenic Air Force announced in a statement that a two-seater T-2 Buckeye plane crashed was seven nautical miles north of Sparta at 8.50 a.m yesterday during a free-fall exercise.
Declaring three days of national mourning the Air Force also confirmed the tragic death of Squadron Leader Nikolaos Vasileiou, father of two.
Following a parachute sighting on a wooded hillside near the location the aircraft last transmitted, a rescue crew found the body of the 39-year-old captain.
Vassiliou’s copilot was unharmed after parachuting to safety, is reported in good health but in shock and is currently being treated in a hospital in Kalamata.
Both men had 2,500 hours of flight experience and an investigation has been launched to discover the cause of the crash.
Meanwhile, and while Greece is in mourning over Vasileiou’s death, six Turkish fighter jets violated Greek national air space a total of 47 times over the northeast, central and southeast parts of the Aegean Sea.
According to the Hellenic National Defense General Staff that identified and intercepted the Turkish aircraft in line with international rules of engagement, 32 of the violations were conducted by two CN-235 planes, with the remaining 15 carried out by two formations of Turkish F-16 jets.
In four of the cases, the Turkish jets also infringed upon the Athens Flight Information Region (FIR), in violation of aviation rules, Kathimerini reports while two of the aircraft were reportedly armed.