A small passenger plane on board which were two or three people, including television journalist Gérard Leclerc, crashed on Tuesday in Lavau-sur-Loire (Loire-Atlantique), we learned from the prosecution and from sources familiar with the matter.

The Canal group and its colleague Laurence Ferrari immediately deplored on X (ex-Twitter) the death of the journalist (CNews, ex-France 2) in the accident and paid tribute to him, followed by many personalities from the media or the world. policy.

According to a press release released overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday by the Saint-Nazaire public prosecutor’s office, the Robin DR 400 plane took off Tuesday at 11:07 a.m. from Loudun aerodrome (Vienne) bound for La Baule (Loire-Atlantique).

“On board were a pilot and one or two passengers, this information remains to be confirmed”, adds the press release, which does not confirm any identity.

According to sources familiar with the matter, it was Gérard Leclerc who was piloting the plane, as the president of the Loudun flying club also told local media.

The daughter of former minister and Senate President René Monory and a friend of hers were also on board, one of these sources familiar with the matter told AFP.

At 11.37 a.m., the pilot of the plane had announced to the Nantes airport control tower that he was entering Saint-Nazaire airspace but he never announced himself to the authorities of the latter, reports the prosecution.

“It did not transmit any distress message. The available flight data allow the flight path to be followed until 11:42 am, when it disappeared from radar. It was then located near Lavau-sur-Loire” , continues the press release.

“Very quickly, the alert was given and the emergency services started”, with the implementation of a SATER plan (aero-terrestrial rescue).

The first plane debris was “spotted in the canals, in particular a wheel and a piece of registration. At present, and despite searches, no body has been found”, indicates the Saint-Nazaire prosecutor’s office. .

“This research is made particularly difficult because the plane was submerged several meters in an area subject to very strong currents, and in which visibility for divers is almost zero,” he explains.

According to a source familiar with the matter, two bodies were located in the wreckage but could not be cleared.

At this stage two investigations are open: one judicial, entrusted to the air transport brigade and the Loire-Atlantique gendarmerie group, and a technical investigation carried out by the Bureau of Investigations and Analysis (BEA).

“It is with infinite sadness that we learned of the death of Gérard Leclerc, emblematic editorialist of @CNEWS”, wrote on X Gérald-Brice Viret, general manager of Canal in charge of the antennas and programs of the group, to which the chain belongs. CNews.

Journalist Laurence Ferrari hailed the memory of a “very great journalist, a free spirit and an extraordinary teammate” while Pascal Praud, who welcomed him to his show, mourned the disappearance of an “honest man” , express “an immense pain.”

A television figure, half-brother of singer Julien Clerc, Gérard Leclerc began his career as a radio journalist, on Europe 1 (1978-85) then RMC (1985) before spending three decades in public service, including nearly twenty years on the second channel.

He had then become one of the famous faces of Antenne 2, then France 2, in turn head of the economic and social service, columnist, special correspondent, editor-in-chief of the Télématin program and of the political service, deputy director of writing…

Gérard Leclerc then became editor-in-chief of the political, economic and social service at France 3 (2007-09) before being appointed president of La Chaîne Parlementaire-Assemblée Nationale (LCP-AN) (2009-15). He was since 2017 columnist on CNews.

The journalist was married to Julie Leclerc (Chantal Séloron in the city), historic voice of Europe 1 for almost 50 years, with whom he had three children.

Many political figures have also welcomed the death of the editorialist, including the president of the Republicans, Eric Ciotti, the president of the National Rally, Jordan Bardella, or the former president of the Republic François Hollande.

16/08/2023 07:15:26 – Rennes (AFP) – © 2023 AFP