TBM 700 aircraft crashes in France

A US-registered TBM 700 turboprop (msn 171 / N129AG) has crashed in France, according to reports in the French and Belgian media.

The aircraft was en route from Cannes to Kortrijk, Belgium when the aircraft came down in Seine-et-Marne, just to the west of Paris at around 12.30 p.m. local time on Wednesday 8 August 2014.

Two of the five people on board the aircraft at the time of the accident died, including the pilot and one of the four passengers.

The remaining three passengers – two of which are believed to be children – were rushed to a hospital in Paris by helicopter, where the condition of two of the passengers is said to be critical. The third is believed to be seriously injured.

An eye-witness to the crash told a Belgian newspaper that the aircraft narrowly avoided several houses before coming down, adding later that she saw no smoke coming from the aircraft.

A different eye-witness told the same newspaper that he saw the aircraft loose altitude and “start to spin.”