Families watched in horror as a skydiving plane crashed in France moments after takeoff Sunday, killing all 11 people aboard, according to French officials.The single-engine Pilatus PC-6 crashed shortly after taking off from the Nancy-Essey Airfield near the city of Nancy in northeastern France.Officials said the victims included five skydiving instructors, five first-time jumpers and the pilot.French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said some victims' relatives watched the aircraft fall from the sky."Some of the victims' families witnessed the aircraft falling with their own eyes," Nuñez said.
"So there is tremendous emotion and an even greater psychological trauma."MISSOURI SKYDIVING PLANE CRASH THAT KILLED ALL 12 ABOARD IS A 'DEVASTATING LOSS,' COMPANY SAYSPolice officer stands near the site where a skydiving plane crashed in Tomblaine northeastern France, killing all 11 people on board, Sunday, June 28, 2026.(AP Photo/Antonin Utz)Meurthe-et-Moselle Prefect Yves Séguy said the aircraft suffered an apparent malfunction and "fell almost vertically," narrowly missing a populated area after crashing roughly 300 yards from the runway.Flight-tracking data from Flightradar24 showed the aircraft banked left after takeoff before disappearing from radar less than a minute into the flight.France's Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA), the country's aviation accident investigation agency, said on X that it had opened a safety investigation into the crash involving the Pilatus PC-6.
The agency said four investigators and one first-response investigator were dispatched to the scene.MISSOURI SKYDIVING PLANE CRASH THAT KILLED ALL 12 ABOARD IS A 'DEVASTATING LOSS,' COMPANY SAYSForensic technicians examine a skydiving plane that crashed in Tomblaine northeastern France, killing all 11 people on board, Sunday, June 28, 2026.(AP Photo/Antonin Utz)Authorities have not determined what caused the crash, and officials cautioned that it is too early to spec...