Family of Greek pilot killed in Psatha helicopter collision launches legal action against all responsible parties

The legal move

The mother and sister of Aristotelis, the Greek pilot and coordinator who died in the Psatha helicopter collision, have instructed lawyer Vaso Pantazi to initiate legal proceedings. The family will file a "parastasi pros ypostirixi tis katigorias" (a statement in support of the indictment) against any person whose act or omission contributed to the death. The filing will be made before the Athens Misdemeanours Prosecutor via the Directorate for Organised Crime.

The mother and sister of the unjustly lost hero — the Greek operator of the Bell-type helicopter operating in the Porto Germeno area — have instructed our law office to take all necessary legal actions, before the Athens Misdemeanours Prosecutor, through the Directorate for Organised Crime, in order to ascertain the exact circumstances that led to the untimely death of their son and brother Aristotelis and to punish those responsible.

The incident

The fatal collision occurred on 2 August 2026 in the Psatha area, near Porto Germeno, west of Athens. Two Bell-type firefighting helicopters crashed into each other while battling a large wildfire. The crash killed the 46-year-old Danish pilot Rune Kintal and Aristotelis, who served as the Greek coordinator and liaison for the crew. The family's statement describes Aristotelis as one of the most capable pilots, who had been fighting the fire fronts with self-sacrifice in recent days to save lives and property.

What comes next

Pantazi's press release states that the formal declaration of support for the indictment will be submitted "within the next few hours" of Tuesday evening. The legal action is directed against anyone whose act or omission contributed to the homicide. The involvement of the Directorate for Organised Crime signals the seriousness with which the case is being treated at the prosecutorial level.