The pilot of a Hellenic Air Force Mirage 2000-5 fighter plane that crashed in the central Aegean on Thursday did not survive, Greece’ relevant defense minister announced – via Twitter – some three hours later.
The plane went down at roughly 12.15 p.m. (10.15 GMT) nine nautical miles northeast of the central Aegean island of Skyros, which hosts a military air base.
According to media reports, the French-made fighter plane was heading for a landing after intercepting Turkish warplanes that had entered the Athens FIR without a flight plan – an ubiquitous Turkish provocation in the eastern Aegean over the past decades.
In response to a bevy of sensationalist internet postings by Turkish-language media, the Turkish military indirectly said that none of its warplanes were in the region where the Greek plane went down.
