Nando Times

NANCY, France (July 11, 2000 9:08 p.m. EDT http://www.nandotimes.com) A French army Mirage fighter jet crashed overnight near Chaligny, France, during a training exercise, emergency services sources said Wednesday.

The two pilots aboard the Mirage 2000-D ejected safely before the plane crashed at around midnight. The plane's wreckage was not immediately located.

Local officials said that the plane came down in an uninhabited wooded area, far from the air base.

The cause of the crash was unknown.

-- Rachel Gibson (rgibson@hotmail.com), July 12, 2000

Answers

Newsday

Two French Jets Clip Each Other

NANCY, France (AP) -- Two fighter jets clipped each other as they were approaching the landing strip at a French air base, sending one jet crashing into a forest, military officials said Wednesday. A pilot and navigator were injured.

The two Mirage 2000-D jets were trying to land at Nancy-Ochey air base in eastern France when they bumped into each other just before midnight.

One plane was able to land safely but the other crashed in a nearby forest. The pilot and navigator ejected before the crash.

The pilot suffered light bruises and the navigator had a fractured vertebra, said Col. Denis Grimaud, commander of the air base.

Officials were investigating the cause of the accident.

AP-NY-07-12-00 0620EDT< 

-- Rachel Gibson (rgibson@hotmail.com), July 12, 2000.