All 11 people aboard a skydiving plane were killed when the aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff on Sunday, June 28, near the Essey-lès-Nancy airfield in Tomblaine, a suburb in northeastern France. The crash occurred at approximately 11 a.m. local time and was reported by French news outlets L’Est Républicain and Ouest France.
French officials confirmed that the pilot and all 10 passengers perished in the crash. Among the victims were five skydiving students and five instructors. The students were reported to be a group of independent nurses who had traveled from the nearby city of Nancy to participate in a skydiving activity.
The plane fell without any sign of an emergency landing
The regional prefect, Yves Séguy, addressed reporters at a press conference and confirmed that the crash was caused by a mechanical malfunction, though the precise cause remained under investigation. He described the aircraft’s final moments, noting that it fell vertically with no trajectory consistent with an attempted emergency landing.
Séguy also pointed out how close the crash came to causing even greater devastation. The aircraft went down near a residential area and a bike path, and officials acknowledged that the outcome could have been far worse given how densely populated the surrounding neighborhood is. Authorities confirmed there were no casualties on the ground.
The aircraft and its origins
The plane involved in the crash was a Pilatus aircraft registered in Germany that belonged to a parachutist school, according to reporting by the Associated Press and L’Est Républicain. Tomblaine Mayor Hervé Feron described the moment of impact, saying the plane was in the process of taking off when it suddenly went down. He noted that in his recollection, a tragedy of this scale at the airfield had no precedent.
The mayor confirmed that the crash caused no collateral damage beyond the aircraft itself and that city authorities had arranged a private space for the families of the victims to gather. The Greater Nancy Metropolitan Area also set up a separate room for people to pay their respects.
Authorities urge the public to stay clear
The Meurthe-et-Moselle National Police issued a public appeal on Facebook asking residents to avoid the area around Rue Salvador Allende and to stay away from the crash site entirely. The appeal emphasized the importance of keeping roads clear for emergency vehicles and law enforcement personnel responding to the incident.
Prefect Séguy also confirmed via a post on X that the departmental operational center had been activated and that all relevant emergency services were on site and monitoring the situation in real time.
Victims have not yet been identified
At the time of reporting, the identities of all 11 victims had not been officially released. Authorities indicated that families were being supported and that an investigation into the exact cause of the malfunction was underway. PEOPLE reached out to the Meurthe-et-Moselle National Police, Pilatus aircraft and the regional prefect for comment.
The crash comes just two weeks after a separate skydiving plane tragedy in Butler, Missouri, where 12 people were killed as their loved ones watched from the ground on June 14.
Source: L’Est Républicain, Ouest France, Associated Press, as reported by PEOPLE