Tombl©ne: A civilian plane used for skydiving crashed near the northeastern French city of Tombl©ne on Sunday, resulting in the deaths of all 11 individuals on board. Meanwhile, a helicopter crash in Saudi Arabia claimed the lives of 15 people, marking a day of tragic air accidents in different parts of the world.
According to Thai News Agency, the air accident in France occurred shortly before noon local time near Nancy-Essey Airport in Tonbl©ne, close to Nancy. The ill-fated aircraft was a single-engine Pilatus PC-6, carrying a pilot, five skydiving instructors, and five students-all newly graduated nurses experiencing tandem skydiving for the first time. Reports from local officials and eyewitnesses indicated that a malfunction or engine failure happened within less than a minute after takeoff, causing the plane to tilt and crash vertically onto a grassy area about 300 meters from the runway. The crash site was perilously close to a residential area and shopping malls, but thankfully, there were no casualties on the ground.
Prosecutors in Nancy have joined forces with local police and the French Civil Aviation Authority to launch a thorough investigation into the accident. The French Aviation Safety Agency (BEA) noted that this incident is the most severe general aviation accident in France in over three decades, excluding commercial and military flights. While the exact cause of the accident remains unclear, investigators are focusing on the aircraft's technical components and environmental conditions, given the region's severe heatwave at the time.
In a separate incident, a helicopter owned by Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil behemoth, crashed in Ras Tanura, a major oil-producing area on Saudi Arabia's east coast. The crash took place early Sunday morning, killing all 14 people on board, including the pilot and passengers, all of whom were Saudi workers employed by Saudi Aramco. The cause of this accident is still unknown, and the Saudi Ministry of Energy, along with other relevant authorities, is conducting an urgent investigation.
This tragic event in Saudi Arabia occurred shortly after Saudi Aramco resumed crude oil shipments at the Ras Tanoura port, following a near four-month disruption due to escalating tensions in the Middle East and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.