A search was underway Wednesday for a missing crew member after a French Mirage 2000D crashed during a training flight near Nancy, killing at least one person aboard, the French air force said.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported that the aircraft came down near its base on the outskirts of the northeastern French city at 5 p.m. ET (21:00 UTC) Tuesday.
The crew consisted of a young trainee pilot and a very experienced weapons officer, French air force spokesman Col. David Papalardo told franceinfo radio. Papalardo said it appeared at least one of them had been unable to eject.
The Mirage 2000D entered service in 1993, AFP reported. In January 2019, both crew members died when one of the aircraft crashed during a low-altitude night flight in eastern France. The crew of another Mirage 2000D ejected when it crashed near Nancy in July 2021.
France has completed renovations across its Mirage 2000D fleet and plans to continue flying the model into the 2030s, AFP reported.
