A skydiving aircraft crashed near Nancy in northeastern France on Sunday, killing all 11 people on board, according to AP News.

The plane went down shortly after takeoff from Nancy-Essey Airport in Tomblaine, DW reports. The airport sits on the eastern edge of the greater Nancy urban area in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department, placing the crash under the jurisdiction of the local prefect for the immediate investigation and emergency response.

No survivors were reported. The death toll of 11 suggests the aircraft was fully loaded with skydivers and crew—typical for a light-to-midsize jump aircraft like a Pilatus Porter or Twin Otter. This pattern indicates a routine skydiving lift rather than a training or ferry flight. French civil aviation safety investigators from the Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses (BEA), France's agency for investigating all civil aircraft accidents, are expected to lead the investigation into the cause.

The first few minutes after takeoff are among the riskiest moments in any skydiving operation. Aircraft are still at low altitude, speed is building but not yet stable, and there is little room for error if the engine fails or something breaks. Jump aircraft are typically unpressurized, powered by piston or turboprop engines, and flown under visual flight rules—which means pilots rely on landmarks and visibility. These factors leave minimal recovery options if something goes wrong near the ground.

France has an active recreational parachuting community, with hundreds of drop zones registered under the Fédération Française de Parachutisme. Fatal crashes involving multiple deaths at this scale are rare but not unheard of in European skydiving. A similar crash near Gap-Tallard in 2012 killed nine people when a fully loaded jump plane went down shortly after departure.

The investigation will follow standard procedure: recovery of flight data and cockpit voice recorders if they exist; detailed examination of the aircraft's structure and engine; interviews with witnesses; and review of maintenance records and the operator's certification. Because the crash occurred near the airport, physical evidence should be easier to recover than if it had happened in remote terrain.

If the BEA finds a mechanical failure, it could trigger an airworthiness directive—a mandatory safety order—affecting similar aircraft types across European aviation. If the problem involves how the crew operated the plane or followed procedures, the French Fédération and the Direction Générale de l'Aviation Civile (DGAC) will face questions about how closely they oversee jump operations. Either finding could have ripple effects beyond France, since European aviation safety rules are coordinated among EASA member states.

Eleven people died. That is the foundation of everything else.