French Air Force training aircraft explodes near Salon-de-Provence

Cirrus SR20, a French Air and Space Force training aircraft carrying a student and an instructor, crashed near the commune of Salon-de-Provence in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France.

Salon-de-Provence Mayor Nicolas Isnard said that during the emergency, the instructor took control and managed to make a landing on a highway, Caliber.Az reports, citing French media.

The two military personnel sustained minor injuries and were able to leave the aircraft on their own.

According to witnesses, the aircraft caught fire and exploded after the hard landing.

“The crew members were conscious and were immediately provided with assistance by medical teams from the air base,” the country’s Ministry of the Armed Forces remarked.

The incident is being investigated by France’s Bureau of Investigation and Analysis for the Safety of Civil Aviation (BEA) and the Air and Space Force gendarmerie.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov