Air Force F-16 emergency landing in Zakynthos, pilot in good health

The Air Force fighter jet had taken off from the 116th Fighter Wing in Araxos and was participating in an exercise when it experienced a failure and made an emergency landing at the nearest airport, which is Zakynthos.

As soon as the aircraft landed, fire brigades immediately arrived at the scene to deal with the fire incident, while special foams were also sprayed at the scene as a precaution to prevent the spread of the fire that was caused.

The Air Force statement:

"On Thursday, July 9, 2026 at 1:45 p.m., an F-16 aircraft of the 335th Squadron of the 116th Fighter Wing, which was participating in a training flight, made an emergency landing at Zakynthos airport due to a malfunction.

The pilot of the aircraft is in good health.

The causes of the incident are being investigated."