ZAKYNTHOS, Greece — A Hellenic Air Force F-16C Fighting Falcon made a successful emergency belly landing at Zakynthos International Airport on Thursday after experiencing a technical malfunction during a routine training flight. The pilot was uninjured and exited the aircraft safely.
The aircraft belonged to the 335th Squadron of the 116th Combat Wing and had taken off from Araxos Air Base in the northwestern Peloponnese for a scheduled training mission. During the flight, the pilot reported an unspecified technical problem and diverted the aircraft to Zakynthos International Airport, located about 100 kilometers south of Araxos.
According to the Hellenic Air Force, the emergency landing took place at around 1:45 p.m. local time. Initial reports suggested a possible engine fire or fuel leak, but visual evidence indicated that the aircraft's landing gear failed to deploy, forcing the pilot to carry out a wheels-up belly landing.
The F-16 landed directly on its fuselage and slid along the runway. Friction between the aircraft and the runway caused a fire beneath the fuselage. Airport firefighters, who had been positioned along the runway in preparation for the emergency, responded immediately and used water and firefighting foam to extinguish the flames within seconds. The rapid response prevented the fire from spreading to the fuel tanks or causing further structural damage.
The pilot did not use the ejection seat and left the aircraft normally after it came to a stop. Hellenic Air Force spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Konstantinos Gravalos confirmed that the pilot was "in good health."
The incident led to the temporary closure of Zakynthos International Airport, which operates a single runway. Emergency crews secured the area and removed the damaged aircraft before flight operations resumed. The closure disrupted commercial air traffic, with several incoming flights, including services operated by British Airways, TUI, and easyJet, diverted to airports in Athens, Corfu, and Thessaloniki, while some departing flights were delayed.
The Hellenic Air Force has launched an official investigation to determine the cause of the mechanical failure.
The F-16 Fighting Falcon remains one of the main combat aircraft of the Hellenic Air Force. Greece operates one of the largest F-16 fleets in Europe and has continued to modernize the aircraft through upgrade programs to maintain its operational capabilities.
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