ALBAWABA - Eleven people died when a civilian aircraft taking part in a skydiving training trip crashed shortly after take-off in the city of Nancy in north-eastern France, police confirmed on Sunday.
The Pilatus plane took off from the Nancy-Essey airport before crashing near the runway in a residential area on the outskirts of Tomblaine, near two main roads and a business centre. Emergency personnel rushed to the scene, cordoning off the area and starting rescue and recovery operations.
Local officials reported that all 11 individuals on board the aircraft died in the disaster, including the pilot, five skydiving instructors and five pupils. The participants were a group of independent nurses partaking in a parachute training program, officials said.
French authorities said the plane seems to have had a technical problem of some kind before losing control, but the exact cause is still being investigated.
Medical and psychological support teams were dispatched to help the victims’ families and witnesses, and investigators began investigating the debris to discover the cause of the disaster.
The aircraft went down just a short distance from heavily populated neighborhoods and authorities warned that if the plane had come down a little closer to local homes and businesses, the situation might have been much worse.
aircraft specialists are trying to determine the facts of one of France’s deadliest civilian aircraft accidents in recent months as an official investigation has been initiated.
