Greek authorities released new video Tuesday capturing the final seconds before a private helicopter crashed on the island of Sifnos on Monday evening, killing a British couple on their honeymoon and the pilot.
A British couple on their honeymoon were killed in a helicopter crash on a Greek island on Monday.
Alexander Cromie, 31, and Marie Ebert, 30, died when the aircraft crashed into a field on Sifnos shortly after 6pm.
The newlyweds were killed alongside pilot Giorgos Raikos in the… pic.twitter.com/c1JFEtlShu
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) August 18, 2026
The victims have been identified as Alexander Cromie, 31, and Marie Ebert, 30, a married couple from London who had chosen Sifnos for their honeymoon after recently tying the knot. They had chartered the helicopter to fly from Markopoulo, near Athens, to the island.
The pilot, 53-year-old Giorgos Raikos, was a former Hellenic Air Force officer with extensive flying experience, including many hours on military Chinook helicopters. According to reports, he had only obtained his civilian helicopter license within the past year to supplement his income, and was reportedly married with three adult children.
Cromie worked as a vice president in private wealth solutions at Blackstone’s London office. The firm said in a statement that it was devastated by the deaths of Cromie and Ebert, who were celebrating their honeymoon, adding that he was well liked by everyone who knew and worked with him.
The Video Footage
The footage shows the aircraft spinning in the air moments before it went down near the island’s helipad, followed by flames and thick black smoke rising from the crash site.
The Preliminary Police Assessment
The preliminary investigation is being handled jointly by the Milos and Sifnos police stations, under the supervision of the Syros prosecutor’s office. Additional teams from Greece’s Organized Crime Unit and the Cyclades Police Directorate have also been sent to the island to assist.
Police believe a mechanical fault may be to blame. Investigators are focusing on a “strange noise” witnesses reported hearing from the privately chartered Bell 206 shortly before it fell and burst into flames on impact.
Sifnos deputy mayor Manolis Fountoulakis said residents described the sound as unusual, “like a military aircraft,” and suspected the tail rotor may have malfunctioned. He told reporters that almost nothing recognizable was left at the site, just charred remains.
Emergency personnel and locals work near a covered body at the site of a helicopter crash, on the island of Sifnos, Greece, August 17, 2026. Handout via REUTERS.
Smoke billows from the site of a helicopter crash on the island of Sifnos, Greece, August 17, 2026. Handout via REUTERS.
Greece’s Civil Aviation Authority has since issued an urgent directive to every company operating Bell 206 helicopters registered in the country, ordering a visual inspection of the tail rotor system and a functional check per the manufacturer’s technical manuals before any further flights.
The move follows a preliminary review of evidence from the crash, which turned up signs of a possible fault in tail rotor performance.
An Experts Assessment
Panteles Fragoulis, an aviation accident expert and former army pilot, told Greek broadcaster ERT that two scenarios are under consideration:
- mechanical failure in the tail section, or
- a possible medical issue affecting the pilot.
Reviewing footage of the helicopter’s final approach, he pointed to a sharp rightward spin as it neared the helipad, a detail he said could point to a malfunction in the tail rotor system.
He added that investigators will want to know whether any fault, maintenance work, or prior pilot observation had been logged on that part of the aircraft in the days before the crash, and that the wreckage itself should offer clues on whether a specific component failed.
The Pilots Last Radio Call
Separately, Greek public broadcaster ERT reported that the pilot had radioed the control tower about 15 minutes before the crash, saying he was on approach to land at the Exambela helipad, with no sign of trouble at that point.
The helicopter crashed around 6:08 p.m. local time in the Exambela area, roughly 50 meters from the helipad and about 50 meters from houses and the Panayia tis Vrysis monastery. Eyewitnesses described the aircraft making a sharp, unusual movement, spinning out of control, and then losing altitude before hitting the ground.
DNA testing is expected to help confirm the identities of the victims, and autopsies are being arranged. Greece’s National Air and Rail Accident and Transport Safety Investigation Body (EODASAAM) has also been brought in to determine the exact cause of the crash.
