A French Air and Space Force Mirage 2000D fighter jet crashed during a night-time training sortie in northeastern France, killing the pilot and leaving the aircraft’s navigator unaccounted for, the French Ministry of the Armed Forces confirmed on Wednesday.
According to French broadcaster BFMTV, the twin-seat multirole combat aircraft departed the Nancy-Ochey Air Base on Tuesday night carrying a crew of two before coming down in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department near the city of Nancy. The crash occurred at approximately 11:35 PM local time across an open rural expanse situated between the communes of Rogéville, Domèvre-en-Haye, and Tremblecourt.
Military and defense officials confirmed the recovery of the pilot’s body at the scene. An extensive search-and-rescue operation continues across adjacent forested terrain to locate the missing navigator. Henri Lemoine, mayor of the nearby town of Pont-à-Mousson, stated that large contingents of police and emergency fire-rescue personnel deployed promptly to establish perimeter cordons and search grids.
A dedicated emergency crisis operations center has been established in Rogéville, where surveillance drones have been deployed to pinpoint and map the dispersed wreckage.
Judicial authorities have formally opened a high-level investigation to establish the technical causes and operational circumstances surrounding the crash. Regional administrative authorities have alerted local residents to anticipate traffic disruptions on neighboring arterial roads as recovery operations and site inspections proceed.
Source: Anadolu Agency & BFMTV