A Mirage 2000-5 pilot of a Greek fighter jet is safe after being forced to abandon the aircraft during taxiing at the Tanagra Air Base.
The Mirage 2000-5 had already landed and, for reasons still unknown, the pilot exited the aircraft. According to public broadcaster ERT, the 30-year-old female pilot’s colleagues rushed to assist her, while the aircraft appears to have sustained only minor damage.
As reported by Mega, the pilot who was recently interviewed on a local television station, describing how her dream since she was a little girl was to become a pilot.
According to reports, the pilot, whose name has not been disclosed, used a seat with the code name “zero-speed, zero-feet, zero-knots” available in the Mirage 2000-5 (as well as in the Rafale) can save the lives of pilots even if the fighter aircraft is taxiing or stationary. It is an advanced seat that can eject at zero speed, from zero altitude, and without the full power of the fighter’s engines.
The Hellenic Air Force issued the following statement on the incident:
On Monday, July 1, 2024, at approximately 13:46 (Athens time), while taxiing after landing from a training flight, the pilot successfully abandoned the M2000-5 aircraft at the 114th Combat Wing at Tanagra Air Base.”
The Greek fighter jet pilot has been transferred to the 251 general air force hospital for precautionary reasons.
