A skydiving plane crashed Sunday in eastern France, killing all 11 people on board – among them a group of nurses – local authorities said, the country’s deadliest ever general aviation accident.

The crash in the town of Tomblaine killed five instructors, five students and the pilot, said Yves Seguy, the prefect of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department.

The students were nurses, according to the head of Meurthe-et-Moselle’s nursing council, Thierry Pechey.

“They were colleagues who had decided to go on a first skydiving jump, no doubt to unwind, as we’re going through a difficult time with the heatwave,” he said.

Mayor of the nearby city of Nancy, Mathieu Klein, said the victims “died in full view of their loved ones, who were preparing to film the tandem skydives”.

Medical and psychological support teams were caring for relatives of the victims who were present, as well as other witnesses, according to local authorities.

The incident is “the most serious general aviation accident in terms of loss of life”, excluding military and commercial aviation, according to France’s BEA aviation safety agency.   

Just missed home 

There has not been such a serious accident in aeronautics concerning parachute jumping for about 30 years,” said Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot.

Tabarot and Interior Minister Laurent Nunez both visited the site.

The aircraft, a Pilatus registered in Germany, crashed in a grassy area near the runway of the Nancy-Essey aerodrome, close to a residential area and two roads. 

“It’s tragic, but it could have been even worse,” said Klein, noting the plane crashed “just a few metres from homes”.

Tomblaine mayor Herve Feron said the plane fell “in a completely unexplained manner … during the ascent”, describing it as crashing “straight down”.

The aircraft had been “chartered for the occasion, for the skydiving weekend, as is regularly done”, he added.

The cause of the incident was not immediately clear, and a technical investigation has been opened, said Amaury Lacote, deputy public prosecutor in the eastern city of Nancy.

Police posted on X to urge people to “strictly avoid” the area around the airport to allow emergency services access.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)