What happened
During a training session for the ‘Air Force Days’ at Leeuwarden Air Base, two Northrop F-5E Tiger II aircraft belonging to the Patrouille Suisse aerobatic team were involved in a mid-air collision. The team had split into two separate two-plane formations to perform various maneuvers. As the two formations attempted to rejoin into a single group of four, two of the jets made physical contact.
The impact caused significant damage to the aircraft. One jet, registration J-3086, sustained damage so severe that it entered an uncontrollable roll. The pilot was forced to eject, with both the pilot and the ejection seat landing in a greenhouse. The aircraft subsequently crashed into a nearby small lake. The second aircraft, registration J-3088, suffered heavy damage to its right-hand wing and right-hand horizontal stabilizer, but the pilot managed to perform a safe emergency landing back at Leeuwarden Air Base.
The investigation
The Dutch Safety Board (OVV) initiated an investigation into the collision during the second quarter of 2016. The inquiry focused on the sequence of maneuvers performed by the Patrouille Suisse team and the specific moment the two formations attempted to merge.