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Eleven people—a pilot and 10 skydivers—lost their lives on Sunday when a Pilatus PC-6 Turbo Porter crashed soon after takeoff from Nancy-Essey Airport (LFSN) in eastern France. Accident investigators from the French BEA agency are working on the scene to understand what happened to the German-registered turboprop single (D-FIPS), which is registered to KIAS Airlines/Classic Wings but, according to the Aviation Safety Network, was operated for a company called Tandemotion Parachutisme.
The PC-6, manufactured in 1991, crashed around 1,000 feet from Nancy-Essey’s Runway 21 on a road just outside the airport perimeter. French interior minister Laurent Nunez and transport minister Philippe Tabarot visited the scene of the accident. According to the BEA, this was France’s most serious general aviation crash involving skydiving in roughly 30 years.
Local media reports state that the skydivers were due to make their first parachute jumps in tandem configurations with instructors. Powered by a single Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-27 engine, the aircraft can carry up to 10 passengers and has a payload limit of 2,646 pounds.