BREAKING: Two Fighter Jets Collide Midair Over France, Search Underway for Missing Crew
Two French Rafale jets collided midair on Wednesday in a rare accident involving the cutting-edge military aircraft, prompting a desperate search for two missing crew members.
The collision occurred over the town of Colombey-les-Belles in northeastern France.
The two supersonic jets were part of the French Air Force and had taken off from the Saint-Dizier air base.
According to an air force spokesman in Paris, one of the pilots managed to eject following the crash and was later found safe, but an instructor and a student pilot on the second jet remain missing.
France’s Defence Minister, Sebastien Lecornu, confirmed the incident on X (formerly Twitter), stating, “One of the pilots was found safe and sound. The search is still underway after the crash.”
Lecornu expressed his gratitude to the armed forces and police involved in the search and rescue operation.
It is not yet clear what caused the midair collision, and military authorities have launched an investigation to determine the cause of the accident.
The local prefecture has stated that a detailed report on the circumstances leading to the collision will be provided.
Patrice Bonneaux, the deputy mayor of Colombey-les-Belles, recounted hearing an unusual noise at around 12:30 pm on the day of the crash.
“It was not the usual sonic boom of a fighter jet breaking the sound barrier. It was a strange, percussive sound,” he told AFP.
Bonneaux initially suspected that two planes had collided but struggled to believe it until the area was cordoned off by authorities.
The Rafale, a versatile “multi-role” fighter jet, has become a key asset for the French military and a bestseller in the global arms industry.
The aircraft is designed to hunt enemy planes, strike ground and sea targets, conduct reconnaissance, and even carry France’s nuclear warheads.
This latest incident is not the first involving a Rafale jet. In December 2007, a Rafale crashed near Neuvic in southwestern France after the pilot reportedly became disoriented.
In September 2009, two Rafale jets went down off the coast of Perpignan after completing a test flight, resulting in the death of one pilot.
France has successfully sold the Rafale jet to several countries, including Egypt, India, Greece, Indonesia, Croatia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.
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