Terrifying moment two French Air Force Jets crashed during stunt rehearsal

Two French Air Force jets have collided mid-air while rehearsing a stunt near the Saint-Dizier airbase in eastern France.

The crash occurred on the afternoon of Thursday, March 27, during a training drill involving six Alpha Jets from the Patrouille de France.

Terrifying footage captured the moment the jets were performing a stunt and releasing smoke when two aircraft suddenly collided. Both planes plummeted to the ground and were destroyed on impact.

French Air and Space Force officials confirmed that both pilots and a passenger managed to eject from the aircraft and were found conscious. Two of the injured individuals, in a state of “relative emergency,” have been taken to a local hospital, while a third, described as a “multi-trauma sufferer,” is receiving treatment from the Army.

France’s Minister of the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, confirmed the accident in a statement on X, saying emergency services were mobilised, with coordination between the Ministries of the Interior and Armed Forces.

According to officials, the collision occurred around 3:35 p.m. near Air Base 113. One of the jets crashed into a silo at the Calin concrete company, sparking a fire, while the other plane reportedly landed in a canal. Firefighters are working to extinguish the blaze, while police and paramedics are on-site.

No civilian casualties have been reported.

Eyewitnesses recounted the dramatic scene, with one stating that they had been watching the aerobatic display for 15 minutes before hearing a “loud bang” and feeling the “compound vibrate.”

“We looked up and debris was falling from the sky,” a witness told Puissance Télévision. “The pilot landed 50 meters from the compound and was immediately taken away on a stretcher by firefighters.”

Authorities have activated the Sater Plan, a system used to coordinate searches for downed civil or military aircraft using air, land, and radio-electric resources. An Air Force helicopter has been deployed to search for debris.

Saint-Dizier Mayor Quentin Brière, who visited the crash site, urged locals to “not give in to panic” and praised the professionalism of the pilots, attributing their actions to preventing civilian harm.