Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Rafale M24 lost, the pilot is safe

The French Navy lost a Rafale yesterday, Monday July 3 (02;00 PM local time).
The aircraft was the M24, a machine of the second batch delivered in 2008 (F2 standard later upgraded to F3).

According to Air and Cosmos, the pilot would have lost control of his aicraft during a low atltitude BFM training with a USNavy F-18 off the cost of the Ibiza Island, Spain.

The Pilot hopefully managed to eject safely and was recovered by a helicopter of the USS Eisenhower aircraft carrier.
The M24 had notably be involved in the early ASMP-A trials.

Source: Air&Cosmos.
Picture : Rafale M24 seen in the CdG hangar bay last June 18, 2012 ©Antonio Carrasquilla

4 comments:

  1. It was a young pilot finishing certification
    It is alive, that is the most important thing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. black serie in this moment

      http://www.defencetalk.com/two-british-airmen-missing-as-jets-crash-in-north-sea-43559/

      Two British airmen missing as jets crash in North Sea

      Delete
  2. Were the last three Rafale lost to accident all been M model? Glad that the pilot is alright, though.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes they were all Rafale Ms.
      One M near the Pakistani coast ran out of fuel due to pilot error.
      Two Ms crashed into each other south of France, when flying close formation, also due to pilot error.

      Delete