Update 2: French fighters make emergency landing after refuelling mishap
Picture: Ian Pace.
A pair of French military aircraft made an emergency landing at Malta International Airport this afternoon, deploying their parachutes to slow them down on the runway.
The emergency was declared after the refuelling probe of one of the aircraft was damaged during air-to-air refuelling. The other aircraft's tyre exploded as it landed.
The two French Air Force Dassault Mirage 2000 fighter aircraft are understood to be carrying live ammunition. They are now at Park 4.They are among the most modern fighters in the French Air Force.
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francois esteva'
Jul 13th 2011, 13:22
Vive la France Salut!
anton cassar
Jul 13th 2011, 10:09
Probably the French airforce is adopting Arrivas policies....First they fly over Marocco, then to Algeria,Tunisia & all the way to Chad....by the time they arrive inn Libyan territory they end up without fuel & they head towards Malta !!
Victor Vella
Jul 13th 2011, 00:30
Some sent in political comments, others tried to show how well versed they are on aircraft,(as if lol) others tried to show amazment while others took the mickey, so far so good, with the times available to one and all, and it being a democratic paper it accepts comments from one and all, what I have not seen yet is any comment which highlights the danger that a situation like the one we had today at MIA could cause here in Malta.As we only have one airport, and basically one ruinway, what would have happened should God forbid one of the aircraft blew up on Landing?Airport closed off for a week at least, maybe passengers in civil aircraft waiting to take off injured or killed?Th euddy French had better pull thier sock up and straighten thier act as one day soon they are going to cause us some ugly trouble to say the least.
Mrs Carmen Borg
Jul 13th 2011, 00:17
Heren we go again. What kind of scrap metal are these aircraft made of?
Mr Joseph Pavia
Jul 12th 2011, 23:40
Malta must have saved France millions of euro worth of aircraft gear and its face. Isn't it now the right time that the French give us back La Valette's Sword and Dagger just to say thank you.
Corinne Vella
Jul 13th 2011, 10:33
How about some sense of perspective? Those pilots weren't out on a joyride.
And La Vallette was not Maltese.
Corinne Vella
Jul 13th 2011, 12:28
Don't shout too loud about it. 'The French' might ask *Malta* for something in return for bombing Libya on Malta's behalf.
Mr Charles.C. Brown
Jul 12th 2011, 22:20
With all these emergency landings thier is definitly something siriously wrong in the french air force if they are having all these problems with planes cannot even reach corsica of the nato base in sigonella they might as well scrap they air force! No wonder in todays dialy mail i read that france now is saying that the operations in libja are bearing no fruit and they are a waist of time. and this is the country that started it! looks like gaddaffi got the upper hand after all! long live gaddaffi and the jamaharia.
Ramon Mangion
Jul 12th 2011, 22:06
Bdejna bil- kummenti bla sens dwar newtralita u bazi militari...
Jesmond Micallef
Jul 12th 2011, 21:59
Easy here, it looks as if those are a pair of Mirage 2000N, and N stands for nuclear. I'm not saying that they are equipped with such at the moment but they can carry the ASMP missile which is propelled by combined air breathing ramjets and a solid rocket motor The missile is armed with a 300KT nuclear warhead which basically means that the explosion is equivalent to the detonation of 300,000 tons of TNT.
Actually, the ASMP can be carried on both the Super Etendard and the Rafale, both of which have landed in Malta ;-)
Malcolm Felix
Jul 12th 2011, 21:23
I think this Gaddafi''s war is going far fetched!
Mr Peter Korsten
Jul 12th 2011, 21:13
Again? The Armée de l'Air should enquire if they can get their own gate at MIA; after all, they come here often enough.
Mr l Azzopardi
Jul 12th 2011, 20:34
Sorry but am i the only one to smell something fishy about all these EMERGENCY landings?
Mind you i might be completely wrong with my speculation, but to me its starting to look like a way to circumvent our national non alligned position.
??
Tonio Bone
Jul 12th 2011, 20:30
Taking us for a ride are we.......! Missions beyond their operational radius, no more, no less! Good old rocky aircraft carrier Malta!
Mr Dave Smith
Jul 12th 2011, 20:00
Runway is approx 4 Kms long I believe. Deploy chutes? Maybe they have worn out the brake pads due to amount of landings at MIA?
Nicolai Schembri
Jul 12th 2011, 21:14
As Mr. Martin Chetcuti explained, the use of the chutes is a NORMAL procedure so they use less brakes.
Mr Joe Gatt
Jul 12th 2011, 19:45
`The two French Air Force Dassault Mirage 2000 fighter aircraft are understood to be carrying live ammunition. They are now at Park 4.They are among the most modern fighters in the French Air Force.`
The Ethiopian AF has some MIG15`s surplus to requirements.
Perhaps the French would be better off, exchanging this `most modern types` with those old but reliable Migs.
The comparison being Bulldozers Versus Ballerinas.
D Borg
Jul 12th 2011, 19:27
If we are ever at war against the French, we can easily beat them without owning any aircraft and/or anti-aircraft weapons!
Mr Victor Calleja
Jul 12th 2011, 19:25
I told you their fuel gauges are kaput.
Mr martin chetcuti
Jul 12th 2011, 19:22
, ''Parachutes deployed during emergency landing '' is no case for alarm it is a method to help the aircraft reduce its landing roll without much wear and tear on its braking system. Any way lets wait for the usual volley of maltese Gem Gem and Alarmisims.
Jesmond Micallef
Jul 12th 2011, 19:31
Quite right, Mr. Martin Chetcuti. I suspect that perhaps the blown tyre contributed to the deployment of the brake chutes too.
C Falzon
Jul 12th 2011, 20:05
The tyre blowing probably had something to do with the second plane landing fully loaded with fuel. I guess it got its full fuel load from the tanker and then the other plane moved in to refuel but failed to do so because its fuelling probe got damaged in the attempt. So you end up with one plane dry and the other overloaded with fuel.
Most fighter jets are not designed to take off and land fully loaded with fuel, especially if they have a full weapons load as well. Perhaps he didn't dump enough fuel before landing or not at all.
Nicolai Schembri
Jul 12th 2011, 21:18
@Mr C Falzon. Actually even the one with the blown tyre was low on fuel since he was supposed to refuel after the one which broke it's probe.
The blown tyre could have been the result of a hard landing or even if there was some kind of debris on the runway.
Mr Joe Borg
Jul 12th 2011, 19:22
The old Maltese yellow buses were of better quality then the French aircraft .
Mr Joe Gatt
Jul 12th 2011, 19:52
Just fit them out with a pair of wings, and Hey Presto, the French would have a cost effective `Supercharged, Super Stealth Bomber`
With an effective Smoke Screen System thrown` in for free.
Sarkozi, What offers??
guido cutajar
Jul 12th 2011, 19:03
Viva Jum l-Indipendenza 21 ta Settembru 1964 ...Viva ohra tmur ghad data importanti ta 13 ta Dicembru 1974 jum ir Repubblika, u l-ahhar u mhux l-anqas ev viva tmur ukoll ghal 31 ta Marzu 1979.....jum il helsien. Viva illum ghax qeghdin nitmejlu bil poplu kollu, ta kull kulur politiku, u qeghdin ninsulentaw dawn id dati , ghax qeghdin nintuzaw bhala bazi militari.
Melvin Tonna
Jul 12th 2011, 20:45
U x'esagerazzjoni!
MALCOLM SEYCHELL
Jul 12th 2011, 23:15
Oqghod kwiet habib. Ghax Gonzi attakka il PL u kull minn tkellem bhalhekk ghax lilna iggibna qisna komplici li qed noqtlu nies libjani.
Ghax mhux kapaci jiehu decizjoni hu u jhalli pajjizna newtrali irrid inaddaf il kuxjenza tieghu billi jitfa it tajn fuq il poplu Malti u il l PL.
Mr Mark Cassar
Jul 13th 2011, 07:51
hallina Sur Cutajar! Mohhkom biss biex izzeffnu l-kostituzzjoni u d-dati marbutin maghha. U skond int allura, ajruplan thallih jaqa' biex nissalvagwardjaw "il-kostituzzjoni".....ghax bicca karta, skond nies bhalek hija aktar importanti minn hajja ta' bniedem!
Reg Fitzpatrick
Jul 12th 2011, 19:01
While the French are busy trying to cover their usual retreat from a war they initiated, lets impound their 'old bangers' of planes and reduce the risk of them dropping from the sky on one our 'neutral' family homes!
Charles Micallef
Jul 12th 2011, 18:51
Waterloo have not got a patch on the mishaps of the French Airforce!
Mr Patrick Zahra
Jul 12th 2011, 18:49
Maybe the French are using Arriva Pilots!!!!
Mr Joe Gatt
Jul 12th 2011, 19:48
More than likely ..... ARRIVA Hardware.
Pls show some respect, Bud.
Maltese `ARRIVA` Driver/Pilots would have finished the War by now.
Jesmond Micallef
Jul 12th 2011, 18:36
Probably, brake chute is more appropriate terminology here. Anyway, they must have landed fast or touched down late down the runway unless they have some form of temperature limitations on thier wheel brakes, most especailly if heavilly loaded !! Any video's or pictures please ?
C Falzon
Jul 12th 2011, 20:18
Both may have had good, and very different, reasons to use the chute.
If it is the second plane, the one with the blown tyre, that used the chute then it is probably because it landed heavy, with a full fuel load. The brakes cannot normally handle such a situation unaided, and it seems in this case neither did the tyre.
The one low on fuel might also have reason to use it if the fuel was so low that the pilot suspected that he might lose power during landing. If that happened he would not be able to use the thrust reverser so he would deploy the chute as a precaution against that eventuality, possibly even as an outright substitute to the thrust reverser.
An engine shutdown due to low fuel could also precipitate a variety of situations in which a deployed chute would be of benefit.
Mr Charles Cremona
Jul 12th 2011, 18:29
The French air force has a major maintenance problem this is manifesting itself in the number of emergency landings its pilots had to make since the crises started. The RAF has 3 Squadrons of Typhoon and Tornado aircraft flying day and night over Malta from southern Italy and not one has requested assistance. This is worrying as these French aircraft are armed most of the time and if they crash landed they could cause a major disaster at MIA.
Mr Mario P. Sciberras
Jul 12th 2011, 18:25
Please tell them that there is a new Aircraft Recovery Service (ARS) opening up soon, in Malta, They charge for one and you get the other one free.
Mr Jo Camm
Jul 12th 2011, 18:23
"They are among the most modern fighters in the French Air Force."
Kellhom bzonn l-ohrajn ma jersqux l-hawn mela.
Gordon John Grech
Jul 12th 2011, 18:10
The fact is that France was the first one to force the conflict and dragged her allies and NATO in it and now it is the first one to start asking to end it and open talks. Typically France. History repeats itself.
Mr Simon Bonello
Jul 12th 2011, 18:02
Ara x'kumbinazzjoni !! haduha drawwa dawn !
guido cutajar
Jul 12th 2011, 19:08
Mank jahsbu daqsxejn fina, u igibulna ix xabla ta La Vallette, li il buznanniet tan nanniet taghhom serqulna meta kienu Malta........
Darren Portelli
Jul 12th 2011, 17:57
Hey France;
Learn how to fly and stop dragging Malta into this conflict.
Mr Joseph Calleja
Jul 12th 2011, 18:31
Maybe the French would be better off flying F16. What do think Jesmond?
Mr martin chetcuti
Jul 12th 2011, 19:29
Accidents do happen and Malta is obliged to help in such situations. Darren to say ''Learn how to fly'' to fully fledged military pilots engaged in a military conflict is VERY much nonsense
Luke Stivala
Jul 12th 2011, 17:49
Another one ??
This is becoming a habit ...............
Mr emanuel busuttil
Jul 12th 2011, 18:15
well look on the bright side of it FREE AIRSHOW we did'nt have to wait till September to see jet fighters!!
Mr Patrick Zammit
Jul 12th 2011, 18:23
Emanuel
It would not be an enjoyable free airshow if the "live ammo" were to cause any damage or fatalities.
Our government should respect our constitution.
Mr Simon Bonello
Jul 12th 2011, 18:45
But I don't think that @ the airshow they come with live ammunition
Mr Joe Gatt
Jul 12th 2011, 19:57
Mr Simon Bonello
The Aircraft breaks down guaranteed, What about another one, guarantee that is, that their Munitions function too.
How about a Spent Munitions Recycling Enterprise in Libya?
Sound Investment, perhaps?