Eleven people are dead after a plane carrying skydivers crashed in northern France, in an accident that has prompted an urgent review of British aviation safety protocols. The aircraft, a Pilatus PC-12, went down shortly after takeoff from Dunkirk airport on Sunday afternoon. Sources confirm that among the victims were at least two British nationals.
The plane, operated by a French skydiving club, was bound for a drop zone over the region when it plunged into a field. Witnesses described hearing a sputtering engine before the crash. Emergency services found no survivors.
The aircraft's wreckage has been cordoned off for investigation. French air accident investigators have opened a probe. But the focus is already shifting to the UK: documents uncovered by this newspaper show that the same model of plane has been involved in several incidents in British airspace over the past decade.
The incidents include engine failures and emergency landings. The British Civil Aviation Authority today confirmed it is reviewing its oversight of Pilatus PC-12 operations. Critics say the regulator has been too slow to act on known defects.
'Money talks in aviation safety,' a former CAA inspector told me. 'The industry fights every new rule because compliance costs. But when eleven people die, you have to ask whose side the regulator is on.
' The CAA insists its review is standard procedure following any major accident. But families of the victims are demanding answers. The UK's Foreign Office is providing consular support.
For now, the focus remains on the crash site. But the questions are already in the air: was this a preventable accident? And will the British aviation industry face new controls?
I'll be following the money and the regulatory files. Because when the bodies pile up, someone's always making a profit from the risk.
