Two French air display jets crash in rehearsal
Discussion
I haven't seen this anywhere else on PH yet.
Tragedy avoided by the sound of it, pilots ejected, found "alive and conscious" but doesn't say much else about their condition. They could be badly injured from the mid-air collision.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/cpv4gxx2dwzo
Even luckier it wasn't during an actual show or over a crowd.
Tragedy avoided by the sound of it, pilots ejected, found "alive and conscious" but doesn't say much else about their condition. They could be badly injured from the mid-air collision.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/cpv4gxx2dwzo
Even luckier it wasn't during an actual show or over a crowd.
Scrump said:
QuickQuack said:
Gah, cocked up the title. 
If a passing mod could please sort that out, would be much appreciated!.
If a passing mod could please sort that out, would be much appreciated!.
Apparently one of the 3 was a passenger, and one has multiple injuries but doesn't say which for obvious reasons.
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250326-thr...
I didn't realise that one could be a passenger on Patrouille de France flights! Who would that be? A pilot new to the team being trained or a non-pilot? If a non-pilot, what would they be doing there?
QuickQuack said:
Thank you!
Apparently one of the 3 was a passenger, and one has multiple injuries but doesn't say which for obvious reasons.
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250326-thr...
I didn't realise that one could be a passenger on Patrouille de France flights! Who would that be? A pilot new to the team being trained or a non-pilot? If a non-pilot, what would they be doing there?
Possibly ground crew up for Apparently one of the 3 was a passenger, and one has multiple injuries but doesn't say which for obvious reasons.
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250326-thr...
I didn't realise that one could be a passenger on Patrouille de France flights! Who would that be? A pilot new to the team being trained or a non-pilot? If a non-pilot, what would they be doing there?
Riley Blue said:
Eric Mc said:
They had a similar crash back in 1983.
Are they still using Alpha Jets or have they upgraded now?
Alpha Jets according to the news report.Are they still using Alpha Jets or have they upgraded now?
I was looking at the patriotic colour scheme on the parachute canopies as they descended - not sure if MB charge extra for that - which reminded out of the blue of a chap I haven't seen for probably 20 years, an Italian publisher who used to be a member of one of the Waltham Yak syndicates - he was always immaculately turned out in the best that Italian tailoring had to offer, and somehow even his flying overalls managed to invariably be free of the tenacious mixture of oil and crap that the Yaks liberally spread everywhere, but anyway we always used to joke that if Egidio ever had to bale out his parachute canopy would be some stunning Caraceni creation in the form of a silk Il Tricolore. Sadly, having just looked him up I realised he had died in a crash just outside of Padua in 2021, which I had somehow overlooked at the time.
Wow.
Three more for https://martin-baker.com/tie-club/
Given that there was a passenger on board, presumably untrained in the art of sudden exits, are they ejected automatically a second after the pilot goes?
Three more for https://martin-baker.com/tie-club/
Given that there was a passenger on board, presumably untrained in the art of sudden exits, are they ejected automatically a second after the pilot goes?
Simpo Two said:
Wow.
Three more for https://martin-baker.com/tie-club/
Given that there was a passenger on board, presumably untrained in the art of sudden exits, are they ejected automatically a second after the pilot goes?
Probably a moment before if they are in the back seat.Three more for https://martin-baker.com/tie-club/
Given that there was a passenger on board, presumably untrained in the art of sudden exits, are they ejected automatically a second after the pilot goes?
Typically they would have some training in ejection. Basically 'if I say eject pull this handle, otherwise whatever you do don't touch it'. But the seats are probably set up so that if the pilot pulls their handle, both seats go, if the passenger only their seat.
Austin Prefect said:
Simpo Two said:
Wow.
Three more for https://martin-baker.com/tie-club/
Given that there was a passenger on board, presumably untrained in the art of sudden exits, are they ejected automatically a second after the pilot goes?
Probably a moment before if they are in the back seat.Three more for https://martin-baker.com/tie-club/
Given that there was a passenger on board, presumably untrained in the art of sudden exits, are they ejected automatically a second after the pilot goes?
Typically they would have some training in ejection. Basically 'if I say eject pull this handle, otherwise whatever you do don't touch it'. But the seats are probably set up so that if the pilot pulls their handle, both seats go, if the passenger only their seat.
Some aircraft don't have command ejection at all.
Some have command ejection from the front seater only.
Some have command ejection from the rear seat only. This is the case in RAF Hawks. The Red Arrows lost an engineer in the rear seat in a crash in 2022. The front seat pilot got out just in time but he had means to command the ejection of his passenger.
Some aircraft can be configured for any combination of the above.
Hill92 said:
Austin Prefect said:
Simpo Two said:
Wow.
Three more for https://martin-baker.com/tie-club/
Given that there was a passenger on board, presumably untrained in the art of sudden exits, are they ejected automatically a second after the pilot goes?
Probably a moment before if they are in the back seat.Three more for https://martin-baker.com/tie-club/
Given that there was a passenger on board, presumably untrained in the art of sudden exits, are they ejected automatically a second after the pilot goes?
Typically they would have some training in ejection. Basically 'if I say eject pull this handle, otherwise whatever you do don't touch it'. But the seats are probably set up so that if the pilot pulls their handle, both seats go, if the passenger only their seat.
Some aircraft don't have command ejection at all.
Some have command ejection from the front seater only.
Some have command ejection from the rear seat only. This is the case in RAF Hawks. The Red Arrows lost an engineer in the rear seat in a crash in 2022. The front seat pilot got out just in time but he had means to command the ejection of his passenger.
Some aircraft can be configured for any combination of the above.
Austin Prefect said:
QuickQuack said:
Thank you!
Apparently one of the 3 was a passenger, and one has multiple injuries but doesn't say which for obvious reasons.
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250326-thr...
I didn't realise that one could be a passenger on Patrouille de France flights! Who would that be? A pilot new to the team being trained or a non-pilot? If a non-pilot, what would they be doing there?
Possibly ground crew up for Apparently one of the 3 was a passenger, and one has multiple injuries but doesn't say which for obvious reasons.
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250326-thr...
I didn't realise that one could be a passenger on Patrouille de France flights! Who would that be? A pilot new to the team being trained or a non-pilot? If a non-pilot, what would they be doing there?
When the Red Arrows lost 4 pilots in the tragic syncro pair training accident way back in 1971, the two pilots in the rear seats of the Gnats were prospective new syncho pair pilots being shown the routine from the air.
Austin Prefect said:
According to the Pprune forum, French AlphaJets don't have command ejection.
They seem to be fixating on the note in the MB page about the MKF10LN seat that was used : "The twin seater aircraft is not equipped with a seat sequencer" - I might be wrong, but my understanding of an "ejection seat sequencer" is a system integrated with the airframe that constantly updates the seat with various sensor data from the aircraft - airspeed, height, attitude and the rate of change of those three so that in the event of an ejection the seat can adjust the sequence of actions to try and get the best chances of a favourable outcome, rather than it being related to command eject. For example: https://www.teledynedefenseelectronics.com/what-we....
Edited by eharding on Friday 28th March 21:50
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