NATO Greek aircraft crashes during test exercises in Spain

Reuters

A Greek F-16 fighter jet crashed on Monday during some exercises against other aircraft at a training center for elite pilots of NATO in Spain, leaving eight French soldiers and two Greeks dead.

The accident occurred at the airbase of Los Llanos, in the province of Albacete, which is used as a training center for pilots of NATO and where aircraft from several countries are parked.

“It seems there are two people who have died, who are of Greek nationality and eight French,” stated at 21H00 (20H00 GMT) the head of the Spanish government, Mariano Rajoy, interviewed live on the private TV channel Telecinco.

The accident also caused 21 injuries, 10 French and 11 Italian, 5 suffered severe burns, and various other injuries, of which 3 have been discharged and the rest remain under observation.

The Greek plane “proceeded to perform an exercise when during the takeoff maneuver it has lost strength” for unknown reasons, the Spanish ministry said in statements.

Out of its track, it ended up “crashing into the parking area, crashing against some aircraft that were stationed there,” he added.