Two French Air Force Rafale fighter jets collided on Wednesday in the skies over the Mertes-et-Moselle region in northeastern France, before crashing to the ground.
The French Air Force confirmed that the pilot of one of the planes was able to eject before the collision and is in good health, but the instructor and student pilot who were on board the second plane are still missing.
French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu said in a post on the X platform that the two aircraft were part of the 4/3 Aquitaine transition squadron based at the Saint-Dizier air base.
The Air Force said in a statement that the squadron’s main mission is to train pilots and navigators for the French army. The Air Force statement did not provide further details about the cause of the two planes’ crash.