Summary Under investigation Survivors 0 Date 26 January 2015 Injuries (nonfatal) 21 Survivor 0 | Crew 2 Registration 084 Location Albacete Airport, Spain Operator Hellenic Air Force | |
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Site Los Llanos Air Base, Albacete, Spain Aircraft type General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon Total fatalities 11 (including 9 on ground) Similar 2015 Eglin Air Force Base heli, 2015 Villa Castelli mid‑air co, 2015 Juba An‑12 crash, 2015 Syrian Air Force An, 2015 Moncks Corner mi | ||
On 26 January 2015, a General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon jet fighter, belonging to the Hellenic Air Force, crashed on the flightline at Los Llanos Air Base in Albacete, Spain, killing 11 people: the two pilots and nine on the ground. 21 others, all on the ground, were also injured.
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Background
Los Llanos Air Base is the venue of NATO's Tactical Leadership Program (TLP), a regular series of training exercises for personnel from ten NATO member air forces. In January 2015, during TLP2015-1, several NATO air forces deployed aircraft to the base, including four F-16 Block 50 fighter aircraft of the Hellenic Air Force's 341st Squadron, supported by 41 pilots and technicians from the 111th Combat Wing, based at Nea Anchialos Air Base.
Accident
On 26 January 2015, a Hellenic Air Force F-16 fighter jet crashed into other aircraft at the base just after takeoff, causing an explosion which killed 10 people. A total of five aircraft on the ground were damaged or destroyed, including two Italian AMXs, two French Alpha jets, and one French Mirage 2000s. Those killed included the two Greek pilots of the aircraft and eight French military personnel on the ground. 21 individuals were injured, six of them severely. On 27 January 2015, a French airman who was severely burned in the accident died, bringing the death toll to eleven.
The crash was the deadliest involving a military aircraft in Spain since 1984, when a Lockheed C-130 Hercules transport crashed in a mountain range, killing 18 people.
In addition to the loss of personnel, the crash resulted in the write-off of two Dassault Mirage 2000D fighters and two Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet trainers of the French Air Force. Two of its Dassault Rafales were also severely damaged.