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Crash Near Tomblaine
Eleven people died when a skydiving plane crashed in the town of Tomblaine in northeastern France, local authorities said on Sunday, with the pilot and all 10 passengers perishing.
“11 killed in skydiving plane crash in France: Officials The crash occurred soon after takeoff, officials said”
The aircraft went down at 11am local time near the runway at the Nancy-Essey aerodrome, and Yves Seguy, the prefect of the Meurthe-et-Moselle region, said the plane suffered a malfunction and “fell almost vertically.”
French Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot posted that the “human toll is particularly heavy: 11 people lost their lives,” describing the crash near Tomblaine in Meurthe-et-Moselle.
CBS News said the crash killed five instructors, five students, and the pilot, and it reported that the students were a group of nurses preparing for a first skydiving jump.
The plane crashed close to a populated area, on the edge of a built-up area near the airfield, and Seguy said it narrowly missed homes.
Witnesses, Officials, Probe
Tomblaine mayor Hervé Féron told BFMTV that “There was no collateral damage, but unfortunately all the people who were inside died,” adding that the whole town was in mourning.
A local resident, John Curaka, told BFMTV he heard “a noise as if the engine stopped in mid-air”, followed by a loud bang, and he said he went to the crash site.
The Ministry of the Interior said Interior Minister Laurent Nunez was on his way to the scene, and Al Jazeera reported that Nunez was due to be joined by Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot.
CBS News said the Paris prosecutor’s office launched an investigation into the cause of the incident, and it quoted Amaury Lacote, deputy public prosecutor in Nancy, saying a technical investigation had been opened.
Police urged people to “strictly avoid” the area around the airport in Tomblaine to allow emergency responders and law enforcement unrestricted access to the crash site.
Psychological Support and Risk
Officials said emergency services responded immediately and were providing psychological support to relatives of the victims who had gathered at the airfield to watch tandem jumps.
“Eleven people have died after a plane carrying people on a skydiving trip crashed in the town of Tomblaine, in northeastern France, local authorities say”
BBC reported that Chaynesse Khirouni, president of the eastern department of Meurthe-et-Moselle, said those family members had suffered “considerable psychological trauma,” and it said Nuñez visited the crash site with “very strong emotion.”
The crash was described as the deadliest private plane accident in French history, excluding military and commercial flights, according to AFP reports cited by the BBC.
Yves Seguy told BFM that “Give or take a few metres and the accident could have caused collateral casualties,” and ABC News similarly said the accident could have caused collateral casualties if it had occurred just a few dozen meters away.
The Paris prosecutor’s office is leading the crash probe, and the BBC said the cause was not immediately clear while Nuñez declined to speculate ahead of the official investigation.
