On 25 July, at 11: 20, an Alpha Jet of the Patrouille de France formation left the runway in Perpignan. The pilot began to catapult himself, later being transported to the hospital.
It is Athos 2 (Alpha Jet 2), which stopped at the wall at the end of the road, at the end of the runway. The pilot is experienced, having 2800 flight hours. He joined Patrouille de France in 2018.
On Thursday morning, the Patrouille de France acrobatic team operated a training flight over the beaches of Saint-Cyprien. When they returned to Perpignan - Rivesaltes Airport, Athos 2 continued to run on the runway at high speed. Because of this, the plane stopped at the wall at the edge of the Peyrestortes D117 road.
An Alpha Jet Patrouille de France, involved in a plane crash
The aircraft was badly damaged, and the impact also resulted in a small vegetation fire. The intervention teams restricted the accident site. They intervened to extinguish the fire and rescue the pilot.
An investigation was also initiated to identify the causes of the accident. But there are no victims.
The Patrouille de France formation canceled the evolution of the evening of July 25, which was to take place over the beaches of Saint-Cyprien. But the timing of the aviation shows will not be affected.
The Patrouille de France acrobatics group has several reserve planes and a pilot (Athos 9) ready to evolve in any position, except for the leader.