The body of a pilot was pulled from the wreckage of small single-engine plane early Wednesday afternoon near the Athens-Lamia highway. Fire-fighters recovered the body of a man aged between 75 to 80, believed to be the sole occupant of the crashed aircraft.

The plane had earlier taken off from an airfield near the south-central city of Thebes.

According to initial reports, the crash occurred during a landing attempt at the same airfield, with the wreckage found 30 to 40 outside the facility’s fence.