2 Rafale Fighter Planes Collide During Air Show, French Air Force Conducts Investigation

2 Rafale Fighter Planes Collide During Air Show, French Air Force Conducts Investigation
The severed vertical tail fin recovered 8 km from the airbase. In the box: the moments following the collision, with the debris falling to the ground. (Photo via Twitter)

International Military - Two Rafale fighter planes from the French Air Force were involved in a small mid-air collision on Sunday, May 22, 2022. Fortunately, the two Rafale planes survived. According to the Eurasian Times, the collision between the two Rafales occurred during the Cognac air show in the commune of Chateaubernard.

Colonel Nicholas Liot, commander of the Cognac-Chateaubernard base, said the two Rafale fighters involved in the crash were from the 30th Fighter Squadron of the French Air Force. The French Air Force and local authorities have launched an investigation into the incident.

To note, the Cognac air show is a major event held at the Cognac-Chateaubernard air base. The event, which takes place on May 21 and 22, includes static displays of aircraft on the ground and flight shows, including by the Patrouille de France aerobatics team.

According to local media reports, the accident happened on the last day of the most-anticipated show at around 12:40 local time, according to local media reports. Reportedly, no one was injured in the incident. Two Rafale fighter planes involved in the collision also managed to land safely.

"In aeronautics, there is only one priority: safety. We have to understand what happened," said Colonel Lyautey, commander of the air base, according to Air Live.

Of the two planes that crashed, one of them was a Rafale 30-GA. The Rafale 30-GA is an aircraft that was recently painted with a tiger paint scheme for the NATO Tiger Meet exercise held in Greece.

Exercise Tiger Meet took place over ten days earlier this month, during which the Rafale flew alongside German Eurofighters, Belgian F-16s, and Swiss and Spanish F-18s.

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