Skydiving plane crash kills 11 in France

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A skydiving plane crashed Sunday in eastern France, killing all 11 people on board — among them a group of nurses — local authorities said, the country’s deadliest ever general aviation accident.

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The crash in the town of Tomblaine killed five instructors, five students and the pilot, said Yves Seguy, the prefect of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department.

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The students were nurses, according to the head of Meurthe-et-Moselle’s nursing council, Thierry Pechey.

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“They were colleagues who had decided to go on a first skydiving jump, no doubt to unwind, as we’re going through a difficult time with the heatwave,” he said.

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Mayor of the nearby city of Nancy, Mathieu Klein, said the victims “died in full view of their loved ones, who were preparing to film the tandem skydives”.

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Medical and psychological support teams were caring for relatives of the victims who were present, as well as other witnesses, according to local authorities.

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The incident is “the most serious general aviation accident in terms of loss of life”, excluding military and commercial aviation, according to France’s BEA aviation safety agency.

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– Just missed home –

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There has not been such a serious accident in aeronautics concerning parachute jumping for about 30 years,” said Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot.

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Tabarot and Interior Minister Laurent Nunez both visited the site.

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The aircraft, a Pilatus registered in Germany, crashed in a grassy area near the runway of the Nancy-Essey aerodrome, close to a residential area and two roads, an AFP journalist reported.

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“It’s tragic, but it could have been even worse,” said Klein, noting the plane crashed “just a few metres from homes”.

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Tomblaine mayor Herve Feron said the plane fell “in a completely unexplained manner… during the ascent”, describing it as crashing “straight down”.

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The aircraft had been “chartered for the occasion, for the skydiving weekend, as is regularly done”, he added.

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The cause of the incident was not immediately clear and a technical investigation has been opened, said Amaury Lacote, deputy public prosecutor in the eastern city of Nancy.

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Police posted on X to urge people to “strictly avoid” the area around the airport to allow emergency services access.

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