French fighter jet crashes during training flight, killing its pilots

Public Prosecutor in the city of Metz, David Touvet, told Agence France-Presse on Wednesday evening that neither the 27-year-old pilot nor his 44-year-old navigator had time to use their ejection seats before the plane hit the ground.

The ejection seat motors were found at the crash site.

Touvet added, "Given the violence of the impact, there is no indication in the investigation that would lead us to believe that either of the crew members would be found alive."

During remarks made in Doha while on a Gulf tour, President Emmanuel Macron expressed the "nation's condolences" on Wednesday.

Air and Space Force spokesperson David Papalardo said that "at the end of the tactical phase of the training exercise, and during the return flight at night relying on flight instruments, air traffic control lost radio and radar contact with the aircraft," adding that no distress call was issued, and "there was no attempt to use the ejection seat."

The "Mirage 2000D" is a two-seat fighter jet designed for ground attack, which entered service in 1993. The aircraft has participated in most conflicts France has engaged in since then, notably in Kosovo in 1999, Libya in 2011, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, as well as the African Sahel region.

The operational history of this model has seen several accidents, including one that occurred in January 2019 in the Jura region during a low-altitude night flight, which resulted in the death of the pilot and his navigator.

In another incident in July 2021 in the Nancy region, the crew members were able to use their ejection seats to save themselves.

France recently completed a program to modernize its fleet of "Mirage 2000D" aircraft, which it intends to keep in service until the next decade.