Pieria, Greece: Two men were killed on October 18, 2026, after a light single-engine aircraft crashed near the Pieria Aero Club airstrip in Kontariotissa, Pieria, northern Greece. The aircraft came down in a dry riverbed close to the airstrip after a flight in the local area.
The victims were identified by Greek media as 41-year-old Christos Anastasiadis and 58-year-old Theologos Marantidis. Anastasiadis was an experienced Hellenic Air Force pilot associated with Canadair firefighting aircraft, a father of four and a former vice-president of the Pieria Aero Club. Marantidis was his friend and the second occupant of the aircraft. Greek reports said the aircraft was privately owned by Anastasiadis. Greek authorities have not officially released the identities of the two victims, who were named in local media reports.
According to Giannis Charisis, president of the Pieria Aero Club, who spoke to Greek news outlet Newsit.gr said that the aircraft had been on a roughly 40-minute local flight before returning towards the club’s airstrip. Anastasiadis reportedly requested a low pass over the runway to assess landing conditions before climbing and manoeuvring to position the aircraft for landing
The aircraft subsequently lost control and crashed into the dry riverbed near the runway. The club president described an unsuccessful manoeuvre at low altitude, saying there was insufficient height to recover. A separate report said wind may have contributed and that a wing struck the ground before the aircraft veered into the riverbed. These accounts have not been confirmed as the official cause of the accident.
The Fire Service operations centre was alerted at about 1:50 p.m. local time. Police had reportedly been alerted around 1:40 p.m. by a passerby who saw the aircraft fall. Eight firefighters using four vehicles reached the site and found both occupants outside the aircraft and unconscious.
The firefighters moved the two men to a safe location, where they were handed over to EKAB ambulance crews. Both were taken to Katerini Hospital, where their deaths were confirmed. No fire broke out after the crash, according to the Fire Service.
The aircraft was found in a dry riverbed near the Pieria Aero Club airstrip, in the Karyotis area of Kontariotissa. Authorities have not publicly released the aircraft’s exact make, model or registration, and available reports do not establish an operating company because the aircraft has been reported as privately owned.
The circumstances that caused the crash remain under investigation. Greek authorities have not yet issued an official finding on whether the accident involved a handling error, wind, a technical problem or another factor. Investigators are expected to examine the aircraft wreckage, the flight sequence, weather conditions and the circumstances of the attempted landing.
