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 SAYS
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 SAYS
Authorities have not determined what caused the crash, and officials cautioned that it is too early to speculate while investigators examine the wreckage.
Nancy Mayor Mathieu Klein called the crash "an immense shock that has plunged the Greater Nancy area into mourning" in a Facebook post, offering condolences to the victims' families and those who witnessed the tragedy.
Klein said he visited the crash site alongside regional officials and praised the "remarkable professionalism and commitment" of rescue, medical and security personnel. He also announced that Greater Nancy would open a gathering space at Marcel Picot Stadium where residents could pay their respects and show solidarity with the victims' families.
MISSOURI SKYDIVING PLANE CRASH THAT KILLED ALL 12 ABOARD IS A 'DEVASTATING LOSS,' COMPANY SAYS
The Meurthe-et-Moselle prefecture said it activated a public information center Sunday afternoon to assist victims' families and said the hotline would reopen Monday morning as recovery efforts and the investigation continue.
Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot described the crash as the country's deadliest skydiving aviation accident in roughly three decades.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
