Two planes of the French air force’s acrobatics team “apparently collided” near an air base in northeastern France on Tuesday and three people were found unconscious, officials said.
The Alpha jet planes collided near an air base west of Saint-Dizier in northeastern France, the French air and space force told news agency AFP. One of the planes hit a silo, causing a fire.
Two pilots and a passenger ejected from the aircraft and were “found conscious”, it said. AFP reported that one person suffered multiple injuries and there were no civilian casualties.
The planes were from the Patrouille de France, which is the precision aerobatics demonstration unit of the French Air and Space Force.
Videos show six planes with different coloured contrails (condensation trails) carrying out a maneuver involving a dive. While four of the aircraft continue on their trajectory, two on the left appear to collide and enter into a free-fall.
Watch MOMENT French jets collide during training session
Pilots and passenger ‘found unconscious’ pic.twitter.com/SR49r6ymUX
— RT (@RT_com) March 25, 2025
Images showed flames leaping out and smoke billowing from a silo that was hit by one of the planes.
“An accident involving two Alpha Jets from the Patrouille de France during rehearsals has just occurred in eastern France, emergency services have been mobilised,” French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu posted on X.
France has been using the light Alpha twin-engined aircraft to train Ukrainian pilots after Russia invaded the country.
In August last year, two French Rafale jets had collided mid-air in eastern France, leading to the death of two pilots. France has sold the Rafale “multi-role” fighter to India, Egypt, Greece, Indonesia, Croatia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
