Seventeen years since the death of the hero Sminagos Kostas Iliakis
On May 23, 2006, six Turkish aircraft violated Greek airspace, heading for Crete.
Two Greek F-16s took off from the Souda base to intercept them. The F-16s approached the Turkish fighters wanting to proceed with reconnaissance and virtual interception, due to a violation of the Athens FIR.
Squadron Leader Konstantinos Iliakis, one of the two Greek pilots, approached the trio of Turkish aircraft.
The Turkish pilot made aggressive and dangerous maneuvers that caused a real dogfight over the Aegean. The result of these aggressive maneuvers was the destruction of the aircraft of squadron leader Constantinos Iliakis.
The two planes went down in the Aegean. The Turkish pilot fell into the sea and was rescued by a tanker sailing nearby. However, Konstantinos Iliakis and his aircraft were not found.
Efforts to find the Greek F-16 and its pilot continued from the sea. Four ships, a frigate, two gunboats and a hydrographic vessel, were desperately searching for the wreckage and the squadron leader Iliakis.
At 6 pm, the frigate “Lemnos” found the squadron commander Iliakis dead.
Konstantinos Iliakis was the father of two children.
On December 28, 2006, at the established medal and award ceremony of the Academy of Athens, the deceased officer of the Hellenic Air Force was awarded the Silver Medal of Virtue and Self-Sacrifice.
On May 23, 2007, the unveiling of a monument in honor of Kostas Iliakis took place in Karpathos.
Source: Skai
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