A light aircraft belonging to a flying club crashed in the north-central French town of Champhol on Friday afternoon, killing all three people on board, Report informs via Xinhua.

According to the Eure et Loir prefecture, the single-engine Cessna 172 went down shortly after 4 p.m. local time in a residential area, narrowly missing nearby homes.

All three occupants - two men and a woman - died in the crash. The pilot, identified by the public prosecutor as a 77-year-old former army general with extensive flying experience, was accompanied by a middle-aged couple.

Initial investigations indicate that about three minutes after takeoff, the aircraft executed a turn that was likely too tight. It struck a wall and then crashed, damaging a parked vehicle but avoiding any homes.

Emergency services swiftly secured the crash site. An investigation is underway, led by the air transport gendarmerie and national police.