ATHENS (AP) — A Greek air force plane crashed Saturday at an air show north of Athens, killing both pilots, officials said, as thousands of people attended the event. A fire after the accident generated large columns of black smoke. There were no injuries among the spectators. The accident of the two-seat Phantom F4 aircraft occurred during a low-altitude maneuver. Air force officials in Greece said the bodies of the two pilots were located during a rescue operation, hampered in the early stages by the fire on the grounds of the Tanagra air force base, 60 kilometers (about 40 miles) north of Athens. Eleven water-dropping planes and helicopters assisted 85 firefighters in an effort to contain the fire, which remained some distance from the viewing area in Athens. Flying Week, an annual air show. Organizers canceled the remaining events planned over the weekend, while the fire prompted an evacuation order in an area near the base. Video footage of the crash showed a plume of smoke rising from the point of impact, followed by a second, larger explosion nearby as the plane broke up. Cypriot Defense Minister Vasilis Palmas said he had called his Greek counterpart, Nikos Dendias, to express his government’s condolences. “It is with deep sadness that I learned of the death of the two Hellenic Air Force officers, who lost their lives in the tragic accident that occurred during the air show at the Tanagra Air Base,” Palmas wrote in an online post.
