French investigators have begun examining the cause of a small aircraft crash near Nancy that killed 11 people, including private nurses making their first skydiving jump, in what officials say is the deadliest light aircraft accident recorded in France.
Issued on: 29/06/2026 - 09:11Modified: 29/06/2026 - 09:12
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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.
