Eleven dead in parachute plane crash near Nancy, pilot hailed for steering away from houses

What happened

On Sunday 28 June 2026, a Pilatus PC-6 turboprop operated by the parachuting company Tandemotion crashed near the Nancy-Essey aerodrome in Tomblaine. The aircraft had just taken off for a baptism flight, carrying five novice parachutists, five instructors and the pilot. At around 11:00, witnesses saw the plane lose power and descend rapidly. It struck a grassy mound close to a departmental road, bursting into flames. All 11 occupants died.

The Pilatus PC-6 is a powerful, very responsive aircraft. Accidents are especially rare.

Investigation begins

The Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA) dispatched five investigators to the scene on Monday 29 June, supported by a drone to map the crash site. The aircraft, registered in Germany, carried no flight-data recorder; the BEA will rely on radar tracks, tower communications and witness videos to reconstruct the flight. The Paris prosecutor's office has opened an inquiry. Bertrand Vilmer, an aeronautics expert advising the Paris Court of Appeal, noted that the cockpit would have been unusually hot during the heatwave and that the plane was operating at its maximum take-off mass.

In such temperatures, putting five tandems in a Pilatus is pure folly.

Eyewitness accounts

A 48-year-old motorist described the aircraft coming straight at his car at barely three metres' altitude. He believes the pilot acted to protect the traffic and a nearby housing estate. "He dove nose-first onto a little grass mound," the witness told L'Est Républicain. He and another driver tried to extinguish the flames with an extinguisher but could not reach the victims. The mayor of Tomblaine, Hervé Féron, told TF1 the scene was "like a sort of coffin under the open sky" and that the first police officer he saw was in tears.

Survivors and near-misses

Claire Critelli, 25, had completed her parachute jump barely an hour before the crash and was celebrating in a restaurant when she learned the news. She described the briefing and safety procedures as meticulous and said she felt secure: "It's quite traumatic because you feel close to the instructors… you think, it could have been me." Another woman, Hélène, had booked the same flight but rescheduled 24 hours earlier. She told BFMTV the team had been professional and reassuring.

A very good memory suddenly becomes terrible.

The aircraft and the response

The Pilatus PC-6, powered by a Pratt & Whitney PT6 turbine, is regarded as one of the most reliable platforms in general aviation. Gérard David, an instructor with over 18,000 flight hours, said a pure mechanical engine failure is "practically unknown" but a failure of an accessory such as the propeller governor remains possible. By Monday morning, a space for mourners had been opened at the Nancy stadium. The crash is the deadliest accident in French general-aviation history.