Rafales Collide Midair: Two Crewmembers Missing

Two French Air and Space Force Rafale crewmembers are still missing after a midair collision between a pair of Rafale fighters. The single pilot of the second aircraft ejected and was not seriously injured, according to a statement by French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu. "One of the pilots was found safe and sound," he said.

The accident occurred on a return flight from a training mission to Germany, and both aircraft crashed near Colobey-les-Belles in northeastern France. The Rafale is a twin-engine, canard-configured combat aircraft designed and built by Dassault Aviation. Its missions include air supremacy, interdiction, reconnaissance, ground support, strike, maritime combat (naval version, designed to operate from aircraft carriers) and “nuclear deterrence.”

The twin-jet fighters involved in the collision were attached to Rafale Transition Squadron 3-4 Aquitaine, based at Saint-Dizier air base. The squadron’s main mission is training pilots and the back-seat crewmembers for two-seat Rafale fighters.

Details on the accident are scarce as of press time, but Patrice Bonneaux, deputy mayor of Colombey-les-Belles, told Agence France-Presse, "We heard a loud noise, around 12:30 p.m. [6:30 a.m. EDT]. It was not the usual sonic boom of a fighter jet breaking the sound barrier. It was a strange noise, a percussive sound."

"I assumed that two planes had collided, but we didn't believe it," he said.