Several hours after the aircraft initial disappeared, search and rescue teams discovered debris, but there has still been no sign of the two pilots.
The fighter jet left the Nancy-Ochey air base on Wednesday morning for a training flight and disappeared from the radar as it passed the Jura region near the Swiss border.
The air force’s spokesperson, Colonel Cyrille Duvivier, confirmed at a press conference in Paris that the air force hopes it will find the two pilots, who are still classified as missing.
According to Duvivier, the difficulty is in finding the impact zone, as the debris zone can be considerably expansive.
The search teams’ results so far are sadly not encouraging. Duvivier explained that they have had no contact at all nor an ejection signal.
Further to this, none of the tags placed on the ejection seats, which are automatically activated when the seats eject, have been activated.
The search effort is currently surrounding the town of Mignovillard, which is where debris had been found. According to the regional newspaper L’Est Républicain, both a parachute and a map are amongst the debris discovered near Mignovillard.
Duvivier confirmed that search teams had found material which could be a parachute. He said it is too early to say whether it is the aircraft’s parachute or belongs to one of the pilot.
A military source told AFP that they know something “abnormal” had occurred, but did not specify.
The public prosecutor’s office in Metz, responsible for military cases in the eastern part of France, has launched an inquiry into the causes of the crash.
French fighter jet: Nancy fighter jet crashed in the French Jura region, two pilots on board
