- Terrifying video footage captured the huge French aircraft’s botched departure
- Seconds after one Canadair CL-415 water bomber plane takes off, a second tries
- The second plane’s left wing crashes straight into a barge on the Rhône River
A seaplane smashed into a boat packed with tourists while attempting to take off to fight forest fires in France.
Terrifying video footage captured the moment the huge aircraft botched its departure on the Rhône River, in the Gard region of southern France.
Seconds after one Canadair CL-415 water bomber plane takes off, the second tries to do to the same, but instead ploughs into a boat of visitors who had stopped to watch the spectacle.
The plane prepares to take off on the Rhône River, in the Gard region of southern France
Seconds after one Canadair CL-415 water bomber plane takes off, the second tries to do to the same, but instead ploughs into a boat of visitors who had stopped to watch the spectacle
The crash was filmed at Vallabrègues, according to The Aviationist, on August 27.
It said the plane had swooped down to the river to scoop up water before taking off again, but its left wing smashed into the crowd.
Both planes were meant to be helping extinguish a huge forest fire in Collias near Nimes.
David Cenciotti of The Aviationist, said: ‘The firefighting mission is undoubtedly one of the most hazardous for pilots.
‘The very low altitude, the smoke that reduces visibility, winds causing turbulence, the large concentration of aircraft in the same area, the generally abrupt topography and the need of perform several fill-drop cycles in a short time make the water bomber role particularly risky.’
Amazingly, there were no injuries and the plane is expected to be patched up and sent back out into the field.