Skydiving plane crash in eastern France kills 11, deadliest general aviation accident

A skydiving plane crashed Sunday in the town of Tomblaine, eastern France, killing all 11 people on board, local authorities said. The victims included five instructors, five nursing students, and the pilot, according to Yves Seguy, prefect of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department. The nurses, colleagues from the region, had reportedly decided to make their first tandem skydiving jump to unwind during the ongoing heatwave, as noted by Thierry Pechey, head of the local nursing council.

The aircraft, a German-registered Pilatus, came down in a grassy area near the runway of Nancy-Essey aerodrome, close to a residential area and two roads. It crashed during ascent in a “completely unexplained manner”, said Tomblaine mayor Herve Feron, describing the fall as “straight down”. Nancy mayor Mathieu Klein said the plane missed homes by just a few meters, noting that the tragedy could have been even worse.

Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot called it the most serious general aviation accident in terms of loss of life in about 30 years, excluding military and commercial aviation. He and Interior Minister Laurent Nunez visited the crash site. The cause of the crash is not yet known, and a technical investigation has been opened, said deputy public prosecutor Amaury Lacote.

Police urged people to “strictly avoid” the area around the airport to allow emergency services access. Medical and psychological support teams are caring for relatives of the victims who were present, as well as other witnesses.