Two French air display jets crash in rehearsal

Two French air display jets on Tuesday, March 25, 2025, crashed during a training exercise for the French Air Force in Eastern France.

According to BBC.com, the training took a dramatic turn on Tuesday when the two Alpha Jets collided in mid-air near Air Base 113 in Saint-Dizier (Haute-Marne).

The incident occurred at approximately 15:35 as the aircraft were engaged in rehearsals, according to the Air and Space Force.

Despite the severity of the accident, all three crew members, two pilots and one passenger, managed to eject safely.

They were found conscious and in stable condition near the crash site.

Emergency services were quickly dispatched to the area, and an investigation is now underway to determine the exact cause of the collision.

Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu confirmed the incident on X (formerly Twitter), reassuring the public that the situation was under control.

The local mayor’s office also stated that the pilots were “safe and sound,” alleviating initial fears of serious injuries.

The Alpha Jet, a light attack and advanced training aircraft, has been a staple of the French Air Force for decades.

It is used primarily for pilot instruction and aerobatic displays.

While mid-air collisions are rare, the incident raises questions about training protocols and airspace safety.

Authorities have launched an internal review to assess the circumstances of the crash, and further updates are expected in the coming days.

The drill involved six Alpha Jets from the Patrouille de France.

Terrifying footage shows how the group of jets were performing a stunt and firing smoke when two aircraft collided in mid-air.

One of the jets crashed into a silo at the Calin concrete company, which is located near the airbase in Saint-Dizier, and sparked a fire.

The other plane is believed to have landed in a canal.

The Calin concrete company told the newspaper that firefighters are working to extinguish a blaze.

Police and paramedics are also on scene.

No civilian causalities were reported in the incident.

One witness recalled how they were watching the Aerobatic Patrol team’s performance for 15 minutes where they heard a ‘loud bang’ and felt the ‘compound vibrate’.

‘We looked up and debris was falling from the sky,’ the witness, who works at a nearby dealership, told Puissance Télévision.

‘The pilot landed 50 meters from the compound and was immediately taken away on a stretcher by the firefighters.’

Authorities have activated the Sater Plan, a system that organises the search for civil or military aircraft using air, land or radio-electric resources.

An Air Force helicopter was seen flying over the area in search of debris.

Saint-Dizier Mayor Quentin Brière has visited the site and urged locals ‘not give in to panic’, the TV news outlet reports.

He also applauded the professionalism of the pilots, which he alleges allowed the planes to crash without risk to locals.

The city of Saint-Dizier announced last week that the French Aerobatic Patrol would be practising air exercises from Monday to Friday.

A nighttime exercise was scheduled for this evening. It is unclear if this will continue as planned.

France has been using the light Alpha twin-engined aircraft to train Ukrainian pilots after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

In August 2024, two French pilots died after their Rafale jets collided in mid-air in eastern France.

It was in a rare accident involving the cutting-edge military aircraft.

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