Air force drill sparks 9/11 ‘crash’ fear as fighter jet trails low-flying passenger plane & ‘loud bang’ heard over Paris

PARIS residents were left alarmed after spotting a jet fighter tailing a passenger plane before hearing a loud bang — just as the world commemorated 9/11. Eye-witnesses in the French capital spotted an Airbus A330 being shadowed by a French Rafale warplane as it roared at low altitude. TwitterThe passenger plane roared over Paris with a warplane seemingly in pursuit[/caption] AFPA Rafale fighter jet was involved in the shadowing of the Airbus[/caption] As the September commemorations were being held across the Atlantic, Parisians were left shocked as a commercial airliner appeared to be being pursued by a warplane.  A resident told BFMTV, noting that on the 20th anniversary since airliners were hijacked by Al-Qaeda and flown into the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, said “of course we think about that.” They said: “It sounded like a blast — we didn’t know whether it had crashed.” But in fact, the Airbus was involved in a drill. And French Prime Minister Jean Castex was on board. His office said the Rafale fighter jet was carrying out a refuelling exercise. Most read in The Sun HEAT BLAST UK to be hotter than ALGARVE this week as ex-Hurricane Larry brings 25C scorcher SKINCREDIBLE Teen reveals simple steps to get a flawless, streak-free tan for under £10 ALL SHOOK UP Mum mortified after daughter gives her pal a sex toy as a gift LEW'S MIRACLE Hamilton feels 'lucky to be alive' after tyre hits head in Verstappen clash TEEN TRAGEDY Grandad tells of family's 'devastation' as missing girl, 17, found dead EMMA-ZIN LIFE Inside Raducanu's life, from love of F1 and go karting to bond with Rashford Footage of the incident was posted online by concerned residents, including one alarmed at “this fighter-jet nonsense”. Mr Castex’s office said he was on the Airbus because of “his responsibilities in matters of national defence”. Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly was also on board. The military plane had recently evacuated civilians from Kabul airport in Afghanistan. The two aircraft landed at Vélizy-Villacoublay air base, south-west of Paris, yesterday afternoon  BFMTV said: “In the end, it was just an exercise. People will take their own view about the timing.” AFPFrench authorities said the Rafale fighter jet and Airbus was carrying out a refuelling exercise[/caption] We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun news desk? Email us at exclusive@the-sun.co.uk or call 02077824104. You can WhatsApp us on 07423 720 250. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours Click here to get The Sun newspaper delivered for FREE for the next six weeks.