“Some of the families of the victims witnessed the plane crash with their own eyes. So there is tremendous emotion and an even greater psychological trauma,” said Interior Minister Laurent Nunez.
TOMBLAINE, France (AP) — Families watched in shock as a parachute plane carrying loved ones on what was supposed to be a thrilling skydiving entry crashed in northeastern France on Sunday, killing all 11 people on board, authorities said.
The dead include five skydiving instructors, five novice jumpers and the pilot, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said.
Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot said it was France’s biggest aviation accident involving skydiving in about 30 years.
“Some of the families of the victims witnessed the plane crash with their own eyes. So there are tremendous emotions and an even greater psychological trauma,” Nunez said.
He declined to speculate on what caused the crash, but said the plane suddenly fell from the sky. He said he had just taken off from Nancy-Essey airfield on the outskirts of the city of Nancy when he skidded about 300 meters from the runway.
Yves Séguy, prefect of the Meurthe-et-Moselle region, said the plane suffered a malfunction and “fell almost vertically”, narrowly missing a built-up area.
“Had it happened just a few tens of meters away, the accident could have caused collateral casualties,” he said.
The plane veered to the left after takeoff and crashed less than a minute later near homes, according to flight-tracking service Flightradar24.
Police surrounded the crumpled wreckage.
Flight tracking sites identified the aircraft as a single-engine Pilatus PC-6, a small cargo, passenger and paratrooper transporter.
The paratroopers would have jumped as a tandem, Nancy mayor Mathieu Klein told public broadcaster France Info. Back-to-back jumps are skydiving experiences where two people, often an instructor and a novice jumper, are attached 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 accident, Nunez said.
A resident, identified as John Curaku by BFM-TV, told the broadcaster that he was in his yard when he heard what sounded like a plane engine stop, followed immediately by a boom.
He said he went to the crash site and “there were no signs of life”, with two of the bodies thrown several meters from the plane.
By ANTONIN UTZ, JOHN LEICESTER and BARRY HATTON Associated Press
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