Warning: Graphic content
Tomblaine, France: Families watched in shock as a plane carrying loved ones on what was meant to be a dramatic prelude to a parachute crash crashed in northeastern France on Sunday, killing all 11 people on board, authorities said.
The dead included five parachute instructors, five novice jumpers and a pilot, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said. Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot said it was France’s worst aviation accident in nearly 30 years.
“Some of the families of the victims witnessed the plane crash with their own eyes. So there is great emotion and a great psychological trauma,” Nunez said.
He declined to speculate on what caused the crash but said the plane suddenly dropped in the air. He said it had just taken off from Nancy-Essey airport on the outskirts of Nancy when it came down about 300 meters from the runway.
Yves Séguy, the regional governor of Meurthe-et-Moselle, said the plane suffered a malfunction and “fell almost vertically,” missing a built-up area.
“If it had happened just a few meters away, the accident would have resulted in loss of collateral,” he said.
The plane veered to the left after takeoff and crashed less than a minute later near a house, according to Flightradar24 flight tracking service.
The police surrounded the fallen remains.
Flight tracking sites identified the aircraft as a single-engine Pilatus PC-6, a small cargo, passenger and aerial transporter.
The paratroopers were supposed to fly in tandem, Nancy Mayor Mathieu Klein told French broadcaster Info. Tandem flying is a skydiving experience where two people, often an instructor and a novice jumper, are paired together for the descent.
Emergency services responded immediately and were providing psychological support to the victims’ relatives, officials said. The Paris prosecutor’s office is leading the investigation into the crash, Nunez said.
A resident, identified as John Curaku by BFM-TV, told the broadcaster that he was in his yard when he heard a sound like an airplane engine stopping, followed immediately by a crash.
He said he went to the crash site and “there were no signs of life,” and two bodies had been thrown a few meters from the plane.
AP
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