Two French Air Force Alpha Jets from the Patrouille de France collided mid-air during a training stunt near Saint-Dizier. Both aircraft crashed, but all three individuals aboard ejected safely. Two were hospitalized, and one is being treated for multiple injuries. No civilian casualties occurred.

Two French Air Force jets collided mid-air during a rehearsal for a stunt near the air base in Saint-Dizier, eastern France, earlier this afternoon. The incident occurred during a training drill involving six Alpha Jets from the Patrouille de France, the French Air Force's aerobatic demonstration team.

Terrifying footage captured the moment when the group of jets, performing a stunt and releasing smoke, experienced the mid-air collision. Both planes plummeted to the ground and were completely destroyed in the crash. Fortunately, both pilots and a passenger managed to eject from the planes and were found conscious, according to officials from the French Air and Space Force.

French newspaper Le Figaro reported that two of the individuals involved are currently in a state of “relative emergency” and have been transported to a local hospital. The third individual, described as a "multi-trauma sufferer," is under treatment by the Army.

Sébastien Lecornu, France's Minister of the Armed Forces, confirmed the accident in a statement posted on X (formerly known as Twitter). He assured that emergency services were mobilized, with coordination managed by the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of the Armed Forces.

The collision took place around 3:35 p.m. near Air Base 113. One of the jets crashed into a silo at the Calin concrete company, located close to the airbase, triggering a fire. The other aircraft reportedly landed in a canal. The Calin concrete company informed the media that firefighters were actively working to extinguish the fire. Police and paramedics were also present at the scene. No civilian casualties have been reported.

A witness who works at a nearby dealership recounted the moment of the crash to Puissance Télévision, stating, "We had been watching the Aerobatic Patrol team’s performance for 15 minutes when we heard a loud bang and felt the compound vibrate. We looked up, and debris was falling from the sky. The pilot landed 50 meters from the compound and was immediately taken away on a stretcher by the firefighters."

Following the incident, authorities activated the Sater Plan, a protocol designed to organize the search for civil or military aircraft using air, land, or radio-electric resources. An Air Force helicopter was seen flying over the area to search for debris.

Quentin Brière, the Mayor of Saint-Dizier, visited the crash site and urged residents to remain calm. Speaking to local news outlets, he commended the professionalism of the pilots, stating that their skill likely prevented greater harm to civilians.

The city of Saint-Dizier had announced just last week that the French Aerobatic Patrol would be conducting training exercises from Monday to Friday, with a nighttime exercise planned for this evening. It is currently unclear whether the evening exercise will proceed as scheduled.

The Alpha Jets involved in the crash are part of the fleet used by France to train Ukrainian pilots following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Notably, this is not the first collision of French military jets; in August 2024, two French pilots lost their lives when their Rafale jets collided mid-air in a rare incident involving the advanced fighter aircraft.