French Mirage 2000D Fighter Jet Crashes Near Nancy, 1 Killed, Another Missing As Search Continues
· Free Press Journal
A French Mirage 2000D fighter jet crashed during a training mission in northeastern France, killing at least one crew member, the French Air and Space Force said on Wednesday. Search operations were underway to locate the second crew member.
The aircraft crashed at around 2100 GMT on Tuesday near its air base on the outskirts of Nancy. An investigation has been launched to establish the cause of the accident.
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Air Force spokesman Colonel David Papalardo told local media that at least one of the crew members appeared to have been unable to eject before the crash, AFP reported.
According to the Associated Press, the aircraft was carrying two personnel — a fighter pilot and a weapons systems officer from the French Air and Space Force.
Crash militaire près de Nancy : "L'équipage du Mirage 2000D (...) était en mission d'entrainement de type vol de nuit. (...) On a un corps retrouvé et l'autre que l'on recherche encore", déclare Ludovic Humbert, commandant de la base aérienne 133 Nancy-Ochey. #canal16 https://t.co/owKBKhPHSF
— franceinfo (@franceinfo) October 21, 2026
Drone Locates Wreckage, Emergency Services Reach Site
Henry Lemoine, an official representing several villages in the area, said on Facebook that a drone had located the wreckage and emergency services had reached the crash site.
Authorities have launched an investigation to determine the circumstances that led to the crash.
French PM Lecornu Announces More Targeted Curfews As Protests Trigger Clashes, Arson & LootingMirage 2000D Has Seen Multiple Military Operations
According to France’s Ministry of Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs, the two-seat Mirage 2000D entered service in 1993. The ground-attack aircraft is equipped with advanced tactical data-link systems that allow it to operate alongside allied forces.
The ministry said the aircraft has taken part in several French military operations, including those in the former Yugoslavia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Libya, the Central African Republic, Iraq, Syria and the Sahel-Saharan region.
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Previous Mirage 2000D Crashes in 2019 and 2021
The Mirage 2000D has been involved in previous accidents, AFP reported. In January 2019, two crew members were killed when an aircraft of the same type crashed during a low-altitude night flight in eastern France.
In July 2021, the crew of another Mirage 2000D managed to eject before the aircraft crashed near Nancy.
France has recently completed a modernisation programme for its Mirage 2000D fleet and intends to keep the aircraft in service into the 2030s.