ATHENS: A Greek fighter pilot died on Thursday when his plane crashed in the Aegean while returning from a mission to intercept Turkish jets, officials said.
“A Greek pilot [has entered] the pantheon of heroes,” Defence Minister Panos Kammenos said in a tweet.
“He fell... fighting to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he said.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said the pilot, a father-of-two named as Georgios Baltadoros, died “in the line of duty”. The Greek armed forces will observe a three-day period of mourning over the accident, the defence ministry said.
The Greek airforce said Baltadoros was fatally hurt when his Mirage 2000-5 fell into the sea while preparing to land “after concluding an operational mission”.
Published in Dawn, April 13th, 2018
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