Eleven people were killed on Sunday, June 28, after a Pilatus PC-6/B2-H4 Turbo Porter crashed shortly after takeoff from Nancy-Essey Airport in eastern France while conducting a skydiving flight.
The German-registered aircraft, D-FIPS, was operated by Tandemotion Parachutisme and was carrying one pilot and 10 passengers. French authorities said there were no survivors. The victims included five skydiving instructors and five people preparing to make their first tandem jump.
The aircraft crashed at about 11:00 a.m. local time near the airport in Tomblaine, just outside Nancy. The impact occurred close to a residential neighborhood and a shopping center, but no one on the ground was injured.
According to ADS-B flight tracking data, the aircraft had completed an earlier parachute flight before landing on Runway 21 at 10:53 a.m. After taxiing back, it departed again from Taxiway B, leaving about 750 meters (2,460 ft) of runway available for takeoff.
Preliminary tracking data indicate the aircraft deviated from the runway centerline during the initial climb before making a turn at low altitude. It crashed on a road just beyond the airport perimeter and caught fire after impact.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said the Paris prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into the accident. Authorities have not identified the cause of the crash and have declined to speculate while the investigation is underway.
The Pilatus PC-6 Turbo Porter is a single-engine utility aircraft widely used for skydiving operations because of its short takeoff and landing performance and ability to carry up to 10 parachutists to jump altitude in a single flight.
The accident is reported to be the deadliest involving a civilian light aircraft in France, excluding airline and military accidents.
