A French Mirage 2000D fighter jet, operated by the French Air and Space Force, came down during a training flight, and emergency services were mobilised on Tuesday evening.
The crash involving an aircraft from the Nancy-Ochey Air Base (Air Base 133) took place near the town of Rogéville at around 10.40pm, according to a ministry statement confirming an initial report by the media outlet Ici Lorraine.
As soon as the information had come in, Yves Séguy, Prefect of Meurthe-et-Moselle, explained during a press conference at the scene, every possible rescue operation had been launched, despite difficult weather conditions and the rugged, hard-to-reach nature of the site.
According to Séguy, weather conditions had been so poor that it was not possible to deploy a helicopter to fly over the area. Nighttime, fog and extremely bad weather, he said, had simply made it unfeasible.
As a result, all search efforts were being carried out by personnel on foot, with support from a drone.
At this stage, all efforts are focused on locating the missing crew member, stated Ludovic Humbert, commander of the Nancy-Ochey Air Base, during the same press conference.
For the Nancy Air Base, which had unfortunately been involved in similar accidents in recent years, Humbert said, this was a terrible shock.
There had been a highly experienced navigator and a young pilot who had arrived at the base with all the necessary prerequisites and qualifications to fly a Mirage RMV.
The flight was part of a training mission, a type of operation that typically takes place at night, on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Humbert did not wish to comment at this stage on the possible reasons for the accident, which the investigation will need to establish.
