Patrouille de France Alpha Jet Crash-Lands
On Jul. 25, 2019 a Dassault Dornier Alpha Jet E aircraft (number 2) belonging to the Patrouille de France, the Armée de l’Air (French Air Force) aerobatic display team, crash landed on a road near Perpignan-Rivesaltes airport, in the south of France. The pilot managed to eject and was injured. He’s currently being treated in hospital.
Patrouille de France was practicing to participate on the St Cyprien Air Festival (Fête aérienne St Cyprien) today. The aircraft has stopped almost on the D117 Peyrestortes Road, which borders the runways of the airport.
According to Daily Express, witnesses said the crash sparked a small fire on grass verges and hedges on the roadside.
The exact circumstances of the mishap are still unclear.
Having originated in 1931, the Patrouille de France is the oldest formal flying aerobatic team.
A joint program run by France’s and Germany’s air forces
The Alpha Jet is a tactical-support twin-jet tandem two-seater was designed for a program jointly run by France’s and Germany’s air forces.
It was the first aircraft produced conjointly by Dassault and Breguet. Planned to succeed the Fouga Magister and the Lockheed T 33, it was undertaken in cooperation with the German Dornier Corporation. Specifications were changed during the development.
On April 1971, the program was the following:
- a French training version, as simple as possible ;
- a German close air support and battlefield reconnaissance version, with the extra cost being borne by the German government.
The first flight of prototype 01 took place at Istres on October 26, 1973 with Jean-Marie Saget at the controls. The aircraft maneuvered well and had no difficulties at transonic speeds.
The performance and dependability of the Alpha Jet designated it as the replacement model for the Fouga Magister for the Patrouille de France aerobatics team as of 1981. In Total, 512 Alpha Jets were produced (of which 329 were exported); for ten Air Forces (Belgium, Cameroon, Egypt, France, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Nigeria, Qatar, Togo, West Germany). They now have over a million flying hours to their credit.
Photo credit: NICOLAS CASSAGNE
