A French Air and Space Force Rafale pilot identified a fuel leak on a Bombardier Global 6000 business jet at 40,000 feet on August 12, 2026, prompting the aircraft to abandon a transatlantic flight to Miami and divert to Paris-Le Bourget Airport (LBG), France’s Air Defense and Air Operations Command (CDAOA) said.
The Rafale was launched from Air Base 118 Mont-de-Marsan for a training mission. NATO designates such practice launches as Tango Scrambles, during which fighter crews and air traffic controllers rehearse the full interception sequence. An Alpha Scramble denotes an operational launch, whether to investigate an aircraft of concern or assist one in difficulty. The French Air and Space Force conducts Tango Scramble drills daily.
A third trail spotted at 40,000 feet
The Rafale joined the Global 6000 at cruising altitude as it routed west across France, and the interception proceeded as briefed.
✈️ Un Rafale détecte une fuite de carburant sur un avion civil
— CDAOA (@CDAOAofficiel) August 17, 2026
Ce jour-là, la permanence opérationnelle est déclenchée pour une mission d’entraînement.
Lorsqu’un pilote décolle, il ne sait pas à l’avance à quelle situation il sera confronté. 🤔Perte de contact radio,… pic.twitter.com/QIVe8YgJSM
The pilot then noticed a third trail alongside the aircraft’s usual contrails, thinner and dissipating more quickly. Closing in to resolve the doubt, the pilot registered a smell of kerosene and identified fuel escaping from the business jet’s right wing, the command said.
The crew was alerted. Having initially intended to continue to Miami, it reported the situation to air traffic control, and the aircraft turned north for Le Bourget.
Open flight tracking data reviewed by AeroTime identifies the aircraft as N1244, a Global 6000 registered to Leon Global Express of Miami. Flightradar24 records it leaving Rome Ciampino Airport (CIA) for Miami on August 12, 2026, before the diversion to Le Bourget.
France’s round-the-clock air policing mission
CDAOA is responsible for France’s permanent air security posture, which keeps fighters and helicopters on alert around the clock to identify aircraft, assist crews in difficulty, and enforce the rules of the air. The command said 450 airmen contribute to the mission each day.
Though CDAOA did not identify the interceptor or its unit, the aircraft was likely a single-seat Rafale C from the Mont-de-Marsan-based 3/30 “Lorraine” fighter squadron, which supplies aircraft and crews for France’s permanent air-security alert.
Abroad, French Rafale B fighters closed a four-month NATO Baltic Air Policing deployment from Siauliai, Lithuania, on August 1, 2026, having flown 39 Alpha Scrambles across two rotations, according to the French Air and Space Force.
One of them destroyed a stray drone over Latvia on June 8, 2026, which NATO Allied Air Command described as the first operational use of the MICA missile by the French service in the Baltic region.