France opens investigation after 11 killed in skydiving plane crash near Nancy

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez visited the crash site on Sunday after the German-registered Pilatus light airplane came down shortly after take-off from Nancy-Essey aerodrome, in eastern France.

The aircraft had “begun to take off” before it “suddenly crashed”, Nunez said at the scene.

Posting on X, Nunez wrote: "A medico-psychological emergency unit was activated very quickly to provide essential support to the victims' loved ones as well as to those who witnessed this terrible accident."

The plane came down at around 11.00am about 300 metres from the runway, in a grassy area close to a residential neighbourhood and two roads. Everyone on board was killed – five skydiving instructors, five students and the pilot – while no one on the ground died.

The collective accidents unit of the Paris Public Prosecutor's Office has taken charge of the judicial investigation, with inquiries entrusted to the Air Transport Gendarmerie.

Around 35 gendarmes, including 15 investigators, were deployed to the scene as experts began work on what officials described as a highly technical investigation.

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Crash witnessed by relatives

Nunez said some of the victims' families had seen the aircraft go down, adding to the shock of the accident.

Some relatives “witnessed the aircraft's crash, which adds to the shock and the resulting psychological trauma”, he said.

A medical and psychological emergency support unit has been set up to assist victims' relatives and witnesses.

The five students were private practice nurses who had planned the jump together.

They were “colleagues who had decided to go on a first-time skydiving trip, no doubt to unwind”, said Thierry Pechey, president of the Meurthe-et-Moselle departmental council of the Nursing Order.

The introductory skydiving session was organised by the Tandemotion association. For some of the victims, “this session was a gift”, said François Pélissier, president of Nancy Aerodrome.

One witness, who did not want to be named, said he saw the aircraft climbing before it appeared to lose power.

“I saw the plane climbing,” he told journalists. “It was really pointing its nose upwards, and then all of a sudden, the noise stopped, and it veered off to the right.”

He said he rushed to the crash site to help put out flames with a fire extinguisher.

“I saw all the lifeless bodies on the ground,” he added. “We could tell straight away that they'd died instantly.”

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Possible causes under review

France's Bureau of Investigation and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety – known as the BEA – said the crash was “the most serious general aviation accident in terms of loss of life” in France. General aviation refers to civil aviation activities other than commercial air transport.

Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot, who also visited the site, said France had not seen such a serious skydiving-related aviation accident for around 30 years.

Jean-Paul Troadec, a former BEA president, said that if the crash was caused by a technical failure, engine failure appeared to be “the most likely scenario”.

He said investigators were also likely to look at whether the position of passengers inside the aircraft caused an imbalance, or whether the pilot fainted – “a possibility we will certainly look into because it was very hot”.

The aircraft was not necessarily fitted with a flight recorder, but investigators may be able to use smartphone videos taken inside the plane or by witnesses on the ground, Troadec said.

Yves-Marie Guillaud, president of the French Parachuting Federation, said the Pilatus model involved could carry only 10 passengers in addition to the pilot, meaning it was “packed to the brim”.

He said the organisation that arranged the flight was not affiliated with the federation, which comes under the Ministry of Sport, but instead operated under the authority of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

More than 500 kilometres away, another air accident also claimed one life on Sunday when a microlight crashed at La Palud-sur-Verdon, in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department.

(With newswires)