A Hellenic Air Force F-16 fighter jet crash-landed at Zakynthos airport on Thursday, forcing the closure of one of Greece's busiest summer holiday terminals. The incident occurred at approximately 13:45 local time (10:45 GMT) during a training flight after the aircraft developed a technical fault, the air force said.

The pilot was reported to be in good health, and an investigation into the cause of the incident has been launched. Greek media reported that the aircraft received an indication of an onboard fire before landing and subsequently caught fire on the runway, prompting an emergency response from firefighters and airport personnel.

According to the Kathimerini newspaper, the fighter jet landed without deploying its landing gear, sliding dozens of meters along the runway. The Hellenic Air Force has not commented on this report. Social media footage showed the jet ablaze as firefighters doused it with water.

The aircraft belonged to the 335 Squadron of the 116th Combat Wing based at Araxos Air Base in western Greece. The runway closure caused significant delays, with all remaining flights on Thursday delayed until 21:00, including those scheduled to depart hours earlier.

The incident comes at the start of the summer holiday season, when thousands of tourists, primarily from the UK, travel to the island each week. 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.

Source: www.bbc.co.uk