The planes collided at midday, at an altitude of 2775 metres over the Maddalena Pass, on the French southern Alpine border with Italy.
A pilot and passenger in one of the planes were declared dead in a statement from the local government office in the village of Digne-les-Bains.
“Two recreational aircraft registered in England that took off from the airfield of Saint-Pons crashed in the valley near Larche, at a place called Pre-la-Font, at south of the head of Viraysse, with one person on board the first aircraft and two people on board the second,” the statement read.
“The pilot of the first plane is slightly injured.
“The two people in the second plane died. The victims are two British men, aged 18 and 37 years old.”
The first victim was later identified as Andrew Buck, 37, from Seaham Harbour in Durham.
The 18-year-old victim was not named.
Both planes, which were registered in England, had taken off from the nearby French Saint-Pons aerodrome.
Rescue helicopters rushed to the scene along with firefighters and police units.
The famous Maddelena Pass road between France and Italy was closed to traffic as search and rescue operations continued.
