French air force jets involved in horror crash during mid-air stunt training - as pilots and crew make miracle escape
25 March 2025, 18:35 | Updated: 25 March 2025, 18:51
Two French Air Force jets crashed into each other in mid-air while rehearsing a stunt routine, but the three people on board were luckily ‘found conscious’.
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A terrifying video showed the jets colliding in the air, after which someone can be seen opening a parachute.
Both aircraft were destroyed in the crash, going up in fireballs when they fell to the ground.
It happened near the air base of Saint-Dizier, in eastern France on Tuesday afternoon.
The jets were performing a set of training exercises, with six Alpha jets from the Patrouille de France participating.
Deux avions de la patrouille de France se sont crashés non loin de Saint-Dizier. Les pilotes ont eu les temps de s’éjecter apparemment @afpfr #avion #crash #patrouilledefrance #saintdizier #villiersenlieu @AlertesInfos pic.twitter.com/yFgjhRip5M
— ludovic barbier (@ludovicbarbier5) March 25, 2025
The Patrouille de France is the French Air Force’s main aerobatics display team, similar to the Royal Air Force’s Red Arrows.
The pilots of both planes and a passenger they had on board managed to eject, and were ‘found conscious’.
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Two of the survivors were in a state of ‘relative emergency’, according to French newspaper Le Figaro. They were taken to a local hospital for treatment.
The other was described as a 'multi-trauma sufferer', and is being treated by the Army.
2 avions de la patrouille de France qui se sont heurté pendant l’entraînement ( Ba113 de saint dizier ) les 2 pilotes ont l’air de s’être parachuté pic.twitter.com/psS76fpsYH
— Claude (@babtoumechant) March 25, 2025
France's Minister of the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, confirmed that emergency workers were dealing with the incident in a statement on X.
'Emergency services are being mobilised, and coordination is being ensured by the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of the Armed Forces,' Lecornu said.
One of the planes landed into a silo at a nearby concrete factory owned by Calin, causing a fire in the building.
L’avion de la patrouille de France qui s’écrase sur les silo de la société Câlin à saint dizier. pic.twitter.com/cnnkwrPcm1
— Claude (@babtoumechant) March 25, 2025
A spokesperson for the company told the newspaper that firefighters were helping to extinguish the fire, with police and paramedics also helping.
The other plane reportedly landed in a local canal. No civilian casualties were reported.
One witness who saw the crash said they were watching the aerial performance for about 15 minutes, before they heard a ‘loud bang’ and felt the ‘compound vibrate’.
“We looked up and debris was falling from the sky," the witness told Puissance Télévision.
“The pilot landed 50 meters from the compound and was immediately taken away on a stretcher by the firefighters.”
