Light Aircraft Crash Near Eastern France Airfield Kills Eleven On Board, No Ground Injuries

A light aircraft crashed in Tomblaine in eastern France on Sunday, killing the pilot and ten passengers. The victims included five skydiving students and five instructors from a parachutist school. The plane had taken off from Nancy-Essey airfield immediately before the crash.

The aircraft fell almost vertically in a built-up area on the edge of the airfield near a housing estate and shopping centre, according to Yves Seguy, prefect of Meurthe-et-Moselle. No bystanders were injured. French transport minister Philippe Tabarot said he and interior minister Laurent Nunez were travelling to the scene.

Police asked the public to avoid the area around the airport. Relatives of the victims were present at the airfield when the crash occurred. Half of the skydivers who died were nurses, according to Thierry Pechey, president of the Meurthe-et-Moselle branch of the Order of Independent Nurses.