Azura. fighter jet flypast

Was anyone on Azura last week when the fighter jet flew past. We were in our cabin and it literally went straight past our balcony. Anyone know anything about it?

Not really.....but whereabouts in the world were you at the time and what day was it?

I did read something in the press about fighter jets being scrambled because some Russian jets were in the wrong place.....but can't remember which day it was.

Friday 11th Bay of Biscay

Hi we were on the same cruise, we were sat outside the buffet right next to the outer windows to the side of Aqua bar, the bridge made an announcement just before stating they had been informed by the French navy that they were performing training exercises in the area & we may see them fly by. A few seconds later the jet flew by the window with a huge roar very close to the ship, incredible noise and speed!

As you were in your cabin you wouldn't have heard the bridge info.

Hope you had as good a holiday as we did, fantastic cruise!

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Thanks Caroline, we didn't hear the anouncement just heard the noise and saw the jet, we had a lovely holiday, perfect weather and beautiful ship :)

I was on the prom deck and saw it coming in very low, it pulled up and went over our bow. It was not a fighter jet, but if it was from the French Navy it could have been a radar/communication style of plane. To me it just looked like a biz jet being stupid and buzzing us. I know the captain said it was the French navy and that words will be had with them.

There was no possible reason for the aircraft to buzz us, in fact considering the date, it was plain stupidity.

I was on the prom deck and saw it coming in very low, it pulled up and went over our bow. It was not a fighter jet, but if it was from the French Navy it could have been a radar/communication style of plane. To me it just looked like a biz jet being stupid and buzzing us. I know the captain said it was the French navy and that words will be had with them.

 

There was no possible reason for the aircraft to buzz us, in fact considering the date, it was plain stupidity.

The same thing happened to us on our cruise on Britannia in May, so clearly not a one off by the French Navy!

Didn't Russia come very close our our air space again sometime the other week?

The French use the Bay as a training area for military aircraft, but that is no excuse for buzzing cruise ships in international waters.

The aircraft that buzzed the Azura was defiantly not a fighter or bomber aircraft. It looked like a biz jet. The fact it did not have camouflage paintwork would suggest that if it was a French navy aircraft it may have been testing some new electronic gizmo and was using Azura as a "target".

Just had a look on the net and this is the type of aircraft that buzzed Azura. Not sure which variant.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dassault_Falcon_20

Thanks for the feed back guys, not being an aircraft expert I wasn't sure what type of plane it was, just knew I was loud and extremely close to our balcony.

The same thing happened yesterday on Britannia two French fighter jets did a low pass in the bay of biscay we were told by the officer of the watch that they just wanted to have a look at the ship.

It's ok for the French to say they just want to look at the ship, but while doing a low pass what happens if the aircraft malfunctions and hits the ship.

It's ok for the French to say they just want to look at the ship, but while doing a low pass what happens if the aircraft malfunctions and hits the ship.

That's a bit far fetched IMHO

The aircraft I saw from Azura would have hit her if it failed to pull up. That's not far fetched. Men and machines are not infallible. At sea, birds follow ships, so it's not far fetched that a bird strike could cause the aircraft to mal-function.

The French have no right to put a cruise ship in danger by just wanting to look at her.

The aircraft I saw from Azura would have hit her if it failed to pull up. That's not far fetched. Men and machines are not infallible. At sea, birds follow ships, so it's not far fetched that a bird strike could cause the aircraft to mal-function.

 

The French have no right to put a cruise ship in danger by just wanting to look at her.

A fighter even slowly cruising at 400 mph would be way beyond the ship if it suffered a bird strike by the time the pilot had to take evasive action. The pilot would only be allowed to fly past along the side of a ship. Direct fly overs are not permitted for safety reasons below a minimum height.

There's more chance of a submarine surfacing underneath a cruise ship than an military aircraft hitting one!

I would say The one that went over Britannia yesterday was around 50 meters above deck 19

The one that buzzed Azura passed over the ship and could not have been more than 50 mtrs above her.

Also the aircraft approached Auzara at low altitude and some distance from her. The point about bird strikes was that it could well happen before it reached the ship giving the pilot little time to take any action.

We were in our cabin on Azura, deck 15 Lido , and the plane was level with our balcony on Starboard side, we had a good view of it but it probably looked closer than it actually was.

Whatever the reason, aircraft buzzing cruise ships are putting them in danger.

Did no one take any pics or video??

Not that I know of. Just wish I had my camera with me at the time.

These were taken from the upper deck of Azura on 12th Sept.

https://goo.gl/photos/pKPen9SbU8p1JHEv7

https://goo.gl/photos/Tf8tPDZ1pCMMJGKy7

Ranchi, great shots, I wanted the excellent display from over Southampton Water at Hythe Marina.