Eleven people died on Sunday when a small plane crashed in the town of Tomblaine, near Nancy, in northeastern France, and among the victims is skydiving instructor Filip Kovačević (51).
Filip Kovačević obtained his federal instructor license in 2007, and started his career in Belfort. For the past ten years, he worked as an instructor at the La Vèze club, and had 6,800 jumps behind him.
He lived in Kingersheim in Alsace, was a top skydiver and one of six instructors at the club from Besançon, according to the French “L’Est Républicain”.
Filip Kovačević was also a specialist in the discipline of canopy piloting, in which he achieved a notable result at the French Championship in 2024.
“He was a doubly qualified instructor. In addition to sporting activities within the federation, he also worked outside it, in the field of civil aviation, where he performed tandem jumps for beginners. It was precisely because of that job that he was in Nancy on Sunday. He was extremely expert in everything he did,” said Jean-Michel Poulet, national technical director of the French Skydiving Federation, who met him regularly in Besançon.
His friend David Huet, a multiple world champion in skydiving from Devecey, described him with these words:
“He was very modest, had a big heart, unselfishly shared advice with younger ones, and dedicated a lot of time to our sport. His modesty was truly exceptional. Everyone who knew him said he was a cheerful and pleasant man, and at the same time extremely serious and professional when it came to work.”
In the accident, the pilot, five skydiving instructors, and five students who were supposed to perform their first jumps that day lost their lives.
In addition to Kovačević, among the deceased instructors were Davy Tellier (53), a professional firefighter from the Var department, Anthony Planchon, a skydiving instructor and pilot of the Regional Skydiving Training Center in Strasbourg, Pierre Graber, and Albéric Moulès (33), director of the company Vertical Addict.
Among the deceased students were Cynthia Valli (49), an operating room nurse, Damien Giacovelli, a medical technician from Nancy, and Youssef El Idrissi (48), an accountant from Tomblaine.
The tragedy occurred in front of the eyes of family members and friends of the victims.
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Source: Kurir; Photo: Printscreen Facebook