Two crew members were killed after two firefighting helicopters collided mid-air in Greece on August 3, 2026, while battling wildfires roughly 65 kilometers west of Athens.
The victims were identified as a Danish pilot and a Greek fire service liaison officer. A British pilot and a Greek coordinator aboard the second helicopter survived with minor injuries.
The two Bell helicopters involved were owned by McDermott Aviation, an Australian company based on the Sunshine Coast that leases firefighting aircraft for use overseas.
According to the Greek Fire Service, the collision occurred near Psatha in the Attica region as the aircraft worked to contain a large wildfire along the Attica-Boeotia border.
Footage of the incident showed one helicopter’s rotor striking the underside of the other, which then crashed and caught fire, while the second aircraft made an emergency landing after releasing its water load.
McDermott Aviation responds
Speaking to Sunshine Coast News, McDermott Aviation Founder and President John McDermott said the company was “deeply saddened to confirm that the two crew members aboard one of the helicopters have lost their lives,” adding that the surviving crew members were receiving medical care.
He extended the company’s condolences to the families, friends, and colleagues of those affected, and said both crews had been carrying out critical work supporting firefighting efforts to protect nearby communities. McDermott said the company was cooperating closely with Greek authorities as they investigate the cause of the collision.
Following the crash, all Bell helicopters operating in Greece were grounded as a precaution, according to a source from the country’s civil protection ministry. The surviving crew members were reported to have remained conscious after the collision and helped guide rescuers to the crash site; they were admitted to hospital for observation as a precaution.
A season of record fires across Europe
The collision occurred amid a severe wildfire season across southern Europe, with Greece, France, and Spain all battling major fires in recent days.
In Greece, gale-force winds pushed flames through western Attica, prompting evacuations in several communities and destroying more than 100 homes in the area northwest of Athens.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed condolences over the crash and acknowledged that the scale of this year’s fires had strained the country’s emergency response capacity.
Εκφράζω τη βαθύτατη θλίψη μου για το τραγικό δυστύχημα με τα δύο εκμισθωμένα πυροσβεστικά ελικόπτερα που στοίχισε τη ζωή σε δύο μαχητές της πρώτης γραμμής στον πόλεμο με τις φωτιές υπό πολύ αντίξοες καιρικές συνθήκες -ειδικά για τα εναέρια μέσα μας.
— Prime Minister GR (@PrimeministerGR) August 2, 2026
Η απώλεια του Έλληνα…
Nearly 500 firefighters and 23 aircraft were deployed to fight the blaze near Athens, though strong winds limited the ability of aircraft to draw water from the sea.
Elsewhere in Greece, fires also threatened homes on Kefalonia and burned near Nea Tenedos in Halkidiki.