Rescuers search for French air force navigator after jet pilot dies in crash

The Mirage 2000D jet went down at around 10.40pm near Nancy during a training flight from Nancy-Ochey Air Base 133.

“For Nancy Air Base, which has already been involved in this type of accident in recent years, this is a terrible shock,” said base commander Ludovic Humbert.

“We had a highly experienced navigator and a young pilot who arrived at the base with all the prerequisites and qualifications needed to fly a Mirage," he added. 

Humbert said the flight was part of routine night-time training missions, and confirmed that an investigation was under way into the crash.

Yves Séguy, prefect of the Meurthe-et-Moselle region, said: “As soon as we received the information, we obviously launched all the rescue operations that were possible in difficult weather conditions and at a rugged site that was not easy to access."

Teams on foot were assisted by a drone, he said.
"It wasn't possible to send a helicopter... night-time, fog, extremely bad weather... so that was not feasible,” he added.

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History of accidents

The Mirage 2000D, a two-seat ground-attack fighter aircraft, entered service in 1993.

It has been deployed in most of the conflicts in which France has participated since then, notably in Kosovo in 1999, Libya in 2011 and Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, as well as the Sahel region.

Its service history has been marked by several accidents, including one in January 2019 in the Jura region in eastern France during a low-altitude night flight, in which the pilot and navigator were killed.

In another accident near Nancy in July 2021 the crew managed to eject.

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On 15 August, 2024, two Rafale fighter jets collided during a training flight over Lorraine, north-eastern France, killing two members of one of the crews.

In March 2025, two Alphajets from the French Air Force's aerobatic display team, the Patrouille de France, crashed into each other near Saint-Dizier Air Base in eastern France, with both crews managing to eject.

To remain in service until the 2030s, the Mirage 2000D has undergone a so-called mid-life upgrade. The 50th and final upgraded aircraft was delivered to the French Air and Space Force in June.

(with newswires)