French investigators probe fatal skydiving plane crash that killed pilot and 10 parachutists

A plane carrying participants in a skydiving activity crashed shortly after takeoff in northeastern France on Sunday, killing all 11 people aboard, authorities said.

The Meurthe-et-Moselle Prefecture said on X that the aircraft crashed after departing from Nancy-Essey Airport, prompting officials to activate the department's operational command center.

The Associated Press reported the victims included five parachuting instructors, five novice jumpers preparing for tandem skydives and the pilot.

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Prefect Yves Séguy told reporters the aircraft suffered a malfunction and "fell almost vertically," narrowly missing a populated area.

"Had it occurred just a few dozen meters away, the accident could have caused collateral casualties," Séguy said.

Flight tracking data from Flightradar24 showed the single-engine Pilatus PC-6 banked left shortly after takeoff before crashing less than a minute later near residential homes, about 300 yards from the runway.

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Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said he traveled to the crash site with Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot, where they met with local officials and emergency responders.

Nunez wrote on X that he felt "immense emotion" while meeting with local officials and praised the coordinated response of firefighters, emergency personnel, police, gendarmerie and civil security teams.

He said a medico-psychological emergency unit was activated shortly after the crash to support victims' loved ones and those who witnessed the tragedy. Some family members waiting at the airport witnessed the crash, according to officials.

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Nunez added that the investigation, directed by the Paris prosecutor's office and assigned to the Air Transport Gendarmerie's investigative unit, will determine the cause of the crash.

Tabarot described the incident as a "terrible tragedy" and extended his condolences to the victims' families before traveling to the scene alongside Nunez.

In a later post on X, Tabarot said investigators from France's Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses had visited the crash site and opened an investigation to determine the precise circumstances of the accident. He also described the crash as France's deadliest aviation accident involving a skydiving flight in about 30 years.

The parachutists were preparing for tandem jumps, in which novice participants are harnessed to experienced instructors for the descent.

French broadcaster BFM-TV spoke with a local resident who said he heard what sounded like the aircraft's engine stopping before a loud impact. When he reached the crash site, he said there were no signs of life.

Sunday's tragedy came just weeks after another deadly skydiving plane crash in the U.S. that killed 12 people about 65 miles outside Kansas City, Missouri.

In that crash, the aircraft was carrying 11 skydivers and a pilot. Many of the passengers were preparing for tandem jumps and were inexperienced first-time skydivers, officials said. Some family members waiting at the airport also witnessed the crash.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.