Patrouille de France Alpha Jet Overruns The Runway At Perpignan-Rivesaltes Airport. Pilot Successfully Ejects.

The Patrouille de France has suspended its displays pending investigation.

On July 25, around 11.30LT, a Dassault-Dornier Alpha Jet (Athos 2), belonging to the Patrouille de France, the French Air Force aerobatic display team, veered off the runway 33 at the Aéroport Internationale Perpignan-Rivesaltes, a small international airport near Perpignan and Rivesaltes, in southwestern France. The pilot successfully ejected from the aircraft and his health condition is not a cause for concern according to the team, that in an official statement on Twitter also announced that all its planned displays are suspended pending investigation into the root causes of the incident:

À la suite d’un entraînement lié au meeting de #SaintCyprien, notre pilote Athos 2 a fait une sortie de piste qui a conduit à son éjection. Son état de santé ne suscite pas d’inquiétude. Nos démonstrations aériennes sont suspendues le temps de l’enquête.

— Patrouille de France (@PAFofficiel) July 25, 2019

The Patrouille de France display team was scheduled to take part in the St Cyprien Air Festival (Fête aérienne St Cyprien).

The aircraft overran the runway after landing and the jet stopped its run on an embankment close to D117 Peyrestortes Road, which borders the runway of the airport.

Our pilot has landed correctly at Perpignan when he lost front direction when breaking and ran out the runway. The pilot is safe after ejection and suffering light injuries . Investigations are still going on.

— Patrouille de France (@PAFofficiel) July 26, 2019

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David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.