France: two Navy Rafales lost in the Mediterranean

james84 · Post by **james84** » 24 Sep 2009, 22:04

Two Rafales belonging to the wing embarked on the carrier Charles de Gaulle have been lost in a training mission in the Mediterranean Sea, in the area of Perpignan, close to the Spanish border, maybe because of an in-flight collision. One of the two pilots has been recovered and his life is not in danger, but nothing is known about the other. Here is a link in French
http://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2 ... _3224.html

USCG76 · Post by **USCG76** » 25 Sep 2009, 00:43

That might put a damper on France's hope of selling the Rafales to Brazil.

sprocky · Post by **sprocky** » 25 Sep 2009, 19:44

Well, maybe but if it was a pilot error...

Losing two aircraft in the same area sounds to me as a mid-air collision. IIRC most of those sad happenings in military aviation happened due to pilot errors. I remember one accident in my active time when we lost two Tornados somewhere near Goose Bay