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

France has opened an investigation after 11 people were killed in a skydiving plane crash near Nancy, following a German-registered Pilatus aircraft that crashed shortly after take-off from Nancy-Essey aerodrome. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez visited the site on Sunday after the aircraft “begun to take off” and then “suddenly crashed”, according to his statements at the scene. The plane came down at around 11:00am, roughly 300 metres from the runway, in a grassy area near a residential neighbourhood and two roads. All 11 aboard died—five skydiving instructors, five students and the pilot—while nobody on the ground was reported killed. Judicial responsibility lies with the collective accidents unit of the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office, and inquiries have been assigned to the Air Transport Gendarmerie. About 35 gendarmes, including 15 investigators, were deployed as experts started a “highly technical investigation.” The BEA said the crash was France’s most serious general aviation accident by loss of life.