Air Force pilot escapes as plane slips off runway

An Air Force pilot had a lucky escape when his Patrouille de France overran an airport runway and came to rest at the side of a local road.

The Alphajet pilot, a member of the French Air Force's aerobatic display team, ejected from the craft as it slipped off the runway in Perpignan, according to local newspaper L'Indépendant. He suffered minor injuries.

A small vegetation fire that started close to the plane was quickly put out.

The pilot was a member of the squad due to perform an aerial demonstration in Saint-Cyprien, Pyrénées-Orientales.