French military jets collide midair (VIDEO)

Two pilots and a passenger managed to evacuate before the crash

Two military jets from a renowned aerobatic team have collided midair during a stunt rehearsal in France, crashing to the ground and erupting in a fireball, footage of the incident showed.

Three people – two pilots and one passenger – managed to eject before the crash and were “found conscious,” the French Air and Space Force wrote on X. The crash took place near an airbase in Saint-Dizier, eastern France, on Tuesday afternoon during a training drill involving six Alpha Jets from the Patrouille de France, the French Air Force’s precision aerobatics team.

Footage captured by bystanders showed the moment the jets, engaged in a stunt and releasing smoke trails, collided in midair. The aircraft then spiraled toward the ground as crew members were seen ejecting and deploying their parachutes. Moments later, the jets crashed to the ground and erupted in a fiery plume.