On Tuesday, March 25, 2025, two Alpha Jet military aircraft belonging to the famous French Air Force aerobatic team Patrouille de France collided in the skies above the town of Saint-Dizier, located in the Haute-Marne department in northeastern France. The incident occurred at around 15:40 local time during a training flight involving seven attack aircraft. According to local authorities and the military, both pilots, as well as a passenger from one of the aircraft, managed to eject and were found conscious on the ground. One of the victims was taken to hospital, but their condition is assessed as stable.

One of the planes that crashed fell on the premises of the Calin plant in the Villiers-en-Lieux area, causing a fire at the site. The fire engulfed the concrete silos of the company, which produces building materials. The employees of the plant were not injured, and firefighters who arrived at the scene quickly began to extinguish the fire. The second plane, according to preliminary information, fell into a nearby canal, which prevented additional destruction on the ground. Emergency services, including police and military, are working at the scene, and traffic on the RN4 highway in the Saint-Dizier area has been closed to ensure safety.

The Minister of the Armed Forces of France, Sébastien Lecornu, responded quickly to the incident, confirming the accident on social media. He noted that coordination between the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of the Armed Forces had already been established, and rescue operations were in full swing. The prefecture of Haute-Marne activated the SATER (air-ground rescue) rescue plan to speed up the search for the pilots and the assessment of the consequences. By 16:20, all three victims had been found and handed over to medics, and the authorities assured that there were no civilian casualties.

The Patrouille de France, known for its performances at national holidays such as Bastille Day, arrived at Air Base 113 in Saint-Dizier on March 24 for training. Flights were scheduled daily from 11am to 00pm and 12pm to 00pm in preparation for the summer demonstration season. Eyewitnesses say the two planes clipped each other during the maneuver, causing one to plummet and the other to lose control. Videos circulated on social media showed the moment of impact: six Alpha Jets were performing a display of colored smoke when two of them collided, breaking apart in midair.

The incident is the latest test for the French Air Force. In August 2024, two Rafale fighters based at the same Air Base 113 collided in Lorraine during a training mission, killing two pilots. The current accident once again raises questions about the safety of training flights and the state of the equipment. The Alpha Jet, used by the Patrouille de France since 1981, despite its reliability, is considered obsolete: it is planned to operate until 2032-2035, after which France is considering replacement options in conjunction with the UK and Spain. At the same time, the military emphasizes that such incidents are rare for an aerobatic team that performs around 50 performances around the world every year.

The French authorities have now launched an investigation into the causes of the collision. Possible theories include pilot error or a technical malfunction. Preliminary findings are expected to be published in the coming days, and the Patrouille de France training schedule may be adjusted.