Greek F-16 fighter jet crash-lands at busy Zakynthos airport

A Hellenic Air Force F-16 fighter jet has crash-landed at Zakynthos airport, closing one of Greece’s busiest summer holiday terminals.

The aircraft – which was on a training flight – landed at about 13:45 local time (10:45 GMT) on Thursday after developing a technical fault, the air force said.

It added that the pilot was “in good health” and that the cause of the incident was being investigated.

Greek media reported that the aircraft had received an indication of an onboard fire before landing and caught fire on the runway, prompting an emergency response from firefighters and airport personnel.

The fighter jet landed without deploying its landing gear, causing it to slide dozens of meters along the runway, Greece’s Kathimerini newspaper reported.

The Hellenic Air Force has not commented on this report.

Video emerged on social media showing the jet ablaze while being doused by firefighters.

The air force said the aircraft was from the 335 Squadron of the 116th Combat Wing based at Araxos Air Base in western Greece.

The runway was closed following the incident, causing delays. The airport’s arrivals and departure boards show information about all of Thursday’s remaining flights delayed until 21:00 – including those scheduled to leave hours earlier.

The incident comes at the beginning of the summer holiday season, when thousands of tourists are estimated to travel to the island a week, primarily from the UK.

A specialist air force team was expected to travel to the Ionian island to remove the aircraft from the runway and allow airport operations to resume.