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.

Sortie de piste pour un avion de la Patrouille de France à #Perpignan en fin de matinée.
Le pilote a pu s'éjecter. pic.twitter.com/GTHjl7CsmX

— Celine Llambrich (@llambrich1) July 25, 2019

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.