An F-16 warplane crash-landed at a Greek airport after suffering a technical glitch.
The aircraft’s emergency landing ended up in a crash on the tarmac of Zakynthos airport on the island of Zante today.
Footage shows the F-16C Fighting Falcon belonging to the Greek Air Force burst into flames, with thick black smoke and fumes plummeting to the sky.
The fighter jet had taken off from Araxos on the Greek mainland before a fire broke out on board, according to CNN Greece.
The jet is used by the 116th combad wing of the country’s air force, which is a long-standing member of NATO.
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Pilot of the aircraft is said to be safe and in good health after ejecting from the plane.
The fire appears to have started from the rear of the jet before it spread within seconds as firefighters began dousing it with a chemical fire extinguisher.
Flights to Zante diverted
Operations at Zakynthos airport have been affected, with flights diverted to other airports.
The following flights have been diverted, according to Flightradar24.
- British Airways flight BA662 from London Heathrow due to land at 2.50pm is diverted to Athens
- TUI flight BY492 from Birmingham due to land at 3pm is diverted to Corfu International Airport
- easyJet flight U23693 from Milan is diverted to Corfu
- Wizz Air flight W62455 from Budapest is diverted to Athens
Several departing flights are listed as delayed, including a British Airways departure to London Heathrow.
It was scheduled to take off at 4.05pm before being pushed back to around 6.12pm.
A TUI departure to Birmingham International at 3.55pm has been delayed until around 5.46pm.
A Jet2 flight from Zante to Edinburgh at 9.15pm is delayd until around 10.50pm, according to Flightradar24.
The airport on the holiday hotspot has only one runway.
Zakynthos, also called Zante, sits off the western coast of Greece in the Ionian sea, exactly on the opposite side of the country from Athens.
By car, the journey between the capital and Zante can take up to six hours.
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