A Greek fighter pilot was feared dead when his F16 collided with a Turkish fighter jet today in an area of disputed airspace where mock dogfights take place on a daily basis between the two Nato members.

Two Greek F16 fighters scrambled to intercept two Turkish F16s that were escorting a reconnaissance aircraft over the southern Aegean when, according to a statement from the Greek military, one of the Turkish jets made a sudden manoeuvre that violated air-traffic rules.

Witnesses saw a ball of fire after the two jets collided at 8,230m (27,000ft). The Turkish pilot ejected and was rescued by a passing cargo ship, but the Greek pilot was killed, according to the Turkish Foreign Ministry.

Greece and Turkey, which have brandished the threat of war three times over territorial and airspace disputes in the Aegean since 1974, blamed each other for the collision.

The crash followed a collision between two F16s of the Italian Air Force near the Mediterranean island of Sardinia during a training exercise on Monday night. Both pilots of the single-seat fighters ejected and were rescued unharmed.

Turkish officials said that the F16s collided at midday today 56km (35 miles) south of Rhodes after Greek warplanes had attempted to intercept Turkish aircraft on routine training flights in international airspace.

"During the interception an F16 of the Turkish Air Force collided with an F16 of the Greek Air Force and both planes crashed," the Turkish report read.

The Greeks said that their F16 had intercepted the Turkish aircraft while it flew in Greek airspace over the island of Karpathos. Islanders reported hearing an explosion. The Turkish pilot was picked up by a passing ship but refused to board a Greek military rescue helicopter that arrived to fly him to the mainland.

Both countries sought to play down the incident, which followed months of tension between the Aegean rivals. Dora Bakoyannis, the Greek Foreign Minister, contacted Abdullah Gül, her Turkish counterpart.

"Both expressed their regret for today’s incident and agreed that it must not affect the two countries’ goal of improving their relations," the Greek Ministry said.

Costas Caramanalis, the Greek Prime Minister, agreed this year with Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish Prime Minister, to set up a telephone link between their air force chiefs to avoid accidents between patrolling aircraft.

Greece asserts that its airspace extends 16km (10 miles) out to sea but Turkey recognises only 10km (6 miles), the same distance as territorial waters. Athens often scrambles fighter jets to intercept Turkish aircraft that it says are breaching its airspace.

The F16, known as the Viper, was designed for close combat. More than 4,400 of them have been in service with 24 air forces since the early 1980s. The single-engine aircraft is admired by pilots for its manoeuvrability. It earned a poor name for safety early in its service, although its record has improved in recent years.

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