by Aggelos Skordas
Thirty-four year old Giorgos Baltadoros, who served at the 331stAll Weather Squadron “Theseus”, stationed at the 114th Combat Wing, Tanagra Air Base, has been identified as the pilot who lost his life in the Mirage 2000-5 crash nine nautical miles off the northeast coasts of Skyros on Thursday. The fallen flight lieutenant of the Hellenic Air Force was interviewed in December for Greek public broadcaster ERT’s “Me areti kai tolmi”, military TV show, in a tribute to the “Guardians of the Aegean”.
Four months ago Baltadoros described on camera to ERT the routine of the personnel of the 331stAll Weather Squadron “Theseus” as well as about the great dangers they encounter on a daily basis due to the repeated violations of Greek air space by Turkish fighter jets.
“When we take off, we fly in the so called ‘visual formation’, meaning we see each other and from then on we are awaiting for the instructions”, he explained. The tragic irony is that on Thursday the experienced pilot was returning from a mission over the Aegean and was the head of his formation, flying in ‘visual’ with the second Mirage 2000-5.
“We are always ready. Risk is always high, despite the fact that most of the times nothing happens. But we do not know what the opposite side is about to do, today or tomorrow”, the flight lieutenant underlined.
His fighter jet and another Greek Mirage 2000-5 were returning to Skyros air force base after confronting Turkish planes which violated the Greek airspace on Thursday morning.
Baltadoros was born in June 3, 1984 in Karditsa, Central Greece. He was married and a father of two.
See the footage with Giorgos Baltadoros as aired by ERT on December 3, 2017:
