PARIS: A civilian aircraft carrying skydivers crashed near the eastern French town of Tomblaine on Sunday, killing all 11 people on board, local authorities said, in one of France’s deadliest light aircraft accidents.
The aircraft went down at around 11:00 a.m. local time near the runway of the Nancy-Essey aerodrome in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department, said Yves Seguy, the prefect of the eastern department of Meurthe-et-Moselle.
The victims included the pilot, five skydiving instructors and five students.
The aircraft, a German-registered Pilatus PC-6 used by a parachuting club, crashed into a grassy field close to the airfield, a residential area and a shopping centre, according to local authorities.
Seguy said the plane appeared to suffer damage before plunging almost vertically to the ground.
“The plane fell almost vertically, in the immediate vicinity of a housing estate, on the edge of the airfield,” he told French broadcaster BFM.
“Give or take a few metres and the accident could have caused collateral casualties,” he said, adding that there were no bystanders among the victims.
Local media reported that the aircraft had taken off from Nancy-Essey airfield shortly before the crash while conducting a parachute jump.
The cause of the crash was not immediately known.
Amaury Lacote, deputy public prosecutor in the eastern city of Nancy, said a technical investigation had been opened to determine the circumstances of the accident.
French Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot described the accident as a “terrible tragedy” and said he and Interior Minister Laurent Nunez were travelling to the scene.
According to Interior Ministry staff, Nunez was expected to visit the crash site later on Sunday.
Thierry Pechey, president of the Meurthe-et-Moselle branch of the Order of Independent Nurses, told BFM that five of those killed were nurses.
The crash is among the deadliest involving a light aircraft in France in recent years.
