Three military aircraft were mobilized to come to the rescue of the two tourist planes.
An aerial scare. Two young pilots flying tourist planes from Pontarlier (Doubs) to Reims (Marne) were lost mid-flight on Sunday. They were rescued by the air force, military authorities said in a statement. “north of Paris”.
According to the army, the two young men were victims “bad weather conditions”namely fog and a low ceiling, and were unable to land at the initially planned time, late in the morning. Above all, the two friends were “not qualified for instrument flying”and were unable to fly a plane in complicated weather conditions.
A Rafale B and a Mirage2000-5 respectively took off from Saint-Dizier (Haute-Marne) and Évreux (Eure) around midday to guide the two amateur pilots to a landing strip. They were accompanied by a Fennec helicopter from the Villacoublay base (Yvelines) to locate more easily “the most suitable diversion ground”.
“The fighter and helicopter crews coordinated to join the aircraft, in climatic conditions offering little visibility, and accompany them to a practicable landing site”traces the army in the press release.
-An hour later, the pilots “DR400 and MCR01 landed at (the aerodrome of) Beauvais (Oise), guided by the Rafale B fighter pilot”. Once safe, the two pilots were checked by the gendarmerie for “carry out regulatory checks and reports”.
“The Air and Space Force permanently ensures the protection of French airspace”recalls the press release, which adds that this policy “includes the ability to take into account aerial threats but also assistance to aircraft in difficulty”.
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