A French Mirage 2000D fighter jet crashed during a training mission in northeastern France, killing at least one crew member, the French Air Force said on Wednesday. Search operations were underway for the second crew member.
Air Force spokesman Colonel David Papalardo told local media that at least one of the crew members appeared to have been unable to eject before the crash, AFP reported. The aircraft went down at around 2100 GMT on Tuesday near its air base on the outskirts of Nancy.
The aircraft was carrying two personnel, a fighter pilot and a weapons systems officer from the French Air and Space Force, according to the Associated Press.
An investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the crash. The two-seat Mirage 2000D, which entered service in 1993, is a ground-attack aircraft equipped with advanced tactical data-link systems that enable interoperability with allied forces, according to France’s Ministry of Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs. In January 2019, two crew members died when a Mirage 2000D crashed during a low-altitude night flight in eastern France. In July 2021, the crew of another aircraft managed to eject before it crashed near Nancy.
The ministry added that the aircraft has participated in multiple French military operations, including the former Yugoslavia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Libya, the Central African Republic, Iraq, Syria and the Sahel-Saharan region. France has recently completed a modernisation programme for its Mirage 2000D fleet and plans to keep the aircraft in service into the 2030s. (With inputs from AP, AFP Reuters)
The aircraft has been involved in previous accidents, according to AFP.
