France opens investigation after 11 killed in skydiving plane crash near Nancy

France has launched an investigation after 11 people were killed in a skydiving plane crash near Nancy, with authorities treating the incident as highly technical. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez visited the site on Sunday after a German-registered Pilatus light aircraft went down shortly after take-off from Nancy-Essey aerodrome at around 11:00am, about 300 metres from the runway. The aircraft hit a grassy area near a residential neighbourhood and two roads; no one on the ground died. All aboard were killed, including five skydiving instructors, five students and the pilot. The Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office’s collective accidents unit is handling the judicial probe, with inquiries entrusted to the Air Transport Gendarmerie and about 35 gendarmes deployed, including 15 investigators. The UK Civil Aviation Safety? The article notes France’s BEA called it the most serious general aviation accident in terms of fatalities.