A French Mirage 2000D crashed near Rogéville in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department at about 22:40 local time on October 20 while returning from a mission, according to the French Ministry of the Armed Forces.
The aircraft was assigned to Fighter Squadron 2/3 Champagne, based at Nancy-Ochey Air Base, or BA 133. It carried two crew members: a fighter pilot and a weapons systems officer, known in France as a NOSA.
The ministry said search operations were continuing. One body had been recovered, but identification had not yet been confirmed, while teams continued looking for the second crew member.
AeroTime reported that the crash area was near Rogéville, northwest of Nancy, and that firefighters, military firefighters, gendarmes and a helicopter were involved in the overnight search. The report also said local officials reported debris in the area and witnesses described an explosion and fireball, although those details were not presented as an official determination of the accident sequence. AeroTime’s report said the aircraft was believed to have crashed at about 23:35, but the ministry’s statement gives 22:40 as the time.
The cause has not been established. The ministry said both a safety investigation and a judicial investigation had been opened to determine the circumstances.
The Mirage 2000D is a two-seat French Air and Space Force aircraft used for ground-attack missions. The ministry’s statement did not announce an airspace restriction, fleet-wide grounding or change to civilian flight operations following the crash.