Two Mirage 2000D crew members killed in France — AeroTime

Two military personnel were killed near Nancy, France, when a Mirage 2000D fighter-bomber crashed. On October 22, the French Ministry of the Armed Forces confirmed the deaths of 44-year-old Lieutenant Colonel Antranig Sarkissian, a weapons systems officer, and 27-year-old Lieutenant Quentin Cliché, a pilot.

The aircraft from Fighter Squadron 2/3 “Champagne,” based at Nancy-Ochey Air Base BA 133, crashed on the evening of October 20 near Rozelieures. As AeroTime reports, the fighter was returning from a mission and was approaching for landing after a scheduled night training flight when controllers lost radio and radar contact with it.

The search operation lasted all night

The crash occurred in the area between Rozelieures, Domèvre-en-Haye and Tremblecourt, about 20 kilometers northwest of Nancy. According to Henri Lemoine, the mayor of Pont-à-Mousson, the wreckage was located using a drone.

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Firefighters from the Meurthe-et-Moselle department, military firefighters from Nancy-Ochey Air Base, the gendarmerie and a helicopter were involved in the search. Air base commander Colonel Ludovic Humbert said weather conditions in the flight area were unfavorable, but urged against drawing conclusions about the causes of the crash before the investigation is completed.

Investigation into the causes of the crash

Sarkissian had served at Saint-Dizier Air Base since 2022, had 2,200 flight hours and completed 55 combat missions in Afghanistan, Mali, Niger, Sudan and Chad. Since August 2025, Cliché had served with Squadron 3/3 “Ardennes” at Nancy-Ochey Air Base and was training with Squadron 2/3 “Champagne” to obtain qualification as a Mirage 2000D combat pilot. He had logged 450 flight hours.

French authorities have opened aviation and judicial investigations. According to Humbert, the aircraft had recently been upgraded; in June, France completed a program to modernize 50 Mirage 2000Ds, intended to extend their service beyond 2030.