French Air Force Alpha Jet planes in mid-air crash

Onlookers were stunned when two of France’s renowned Air Force acrobatics jets crashed mid-air while performing a stunt before plummeting to the ground and exploding. Watch the video.

Three people were “found conscious” after two jets from the French air force’s acrobatics team apparently collided near an air base in northeastern France on Tuesday, authorities said.

The Alpha Jet planes are thought to have collided near an air base west of Saint-Dizier in northeastern France, the French air and space force told AFP.

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#[e-mail]/yFgjhRip5M

— ludovic barbier (@ludovicbarbier5) March 25, 2025

A total of seven jets, trailing the iconic red, white and blue smoke of the French flag, were involved in the training drill but only two of them collided.

The French Air Force acrobatic team – Patrouille de France – is the equivalent of Britain’s famed Red Arrows.

This image grabbed from a video shows a ball of fire as a plane crashes, and two persons parachuting after ejecting. Picture: AFP

Three people – two pilots and one passenger – ejected and were “found conscious”, according to the military.

One person suffered multiple injuries, a source told AFP.

One of the planes crashed into a silo, sparking a fire.

There were no civilian casualties.

One plane crashed into a silo and the other plunged into a nearby canal.

One of the planes in free fall on its way to crash as three persons parachute to safety. Picture: AFP

A fireball erupts as the stricken jets hit the ground. Picture: AFP

“Emergency services have been mobilised,” Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on X.

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

Originally published as French Air Force Alpha Jet planes in mid-air crash