A mother and her three children were killed when a small plane she was flying crashed in a field in northwestern France yesterday . The 39-year-old woman , said to be an experienced flyer , had rented the aircraft from a nearby flying club and was with her two daughters and son , aged 13 , 11 and nine . Pictures taken at the crash site today capture the twisted and broken remains of the aircraft , which went down near a farm in the small town of Vrigny , near Argentan . Tragic : The 39-year-old mother and her three children , aged 13 , 11 and nine , were all killed in the crash . Twisted wreckage : Bent and broken pieces of metal and plastic are seen at the crash site today . The alarm was raised at around 5.30pm after a witness saw the plane falling from the sky and rescue teams discovered the wreckage around 40 minutes later . The plane , a Robin DR 400 which belonged to the Argentan flying club , suffered catastrophic damage in the accident and an investigation into the cause of the crash is now underway , reports Corsematin . A police spokesman said : 'The alert was given by a witness . The plane was found at 6:10pm in the municipality of Vrigny . ' A local official , Hugues de Phily , told Corsematin : ' I do not know what the trajectory of the plane was . The debris is all over the place . Unexplained : The aircraft went down in the town of Vrigny , near Argentan , and an investigation into the cause of the crash is now underway . 'It 's difficult to say how the plane was going . Mum was in the front . ' Mr de Phily said that flying conditions were good and added that the investigation was being entrusted to the research section of the aviation police , who are at the crash site today . The mother of the family was believed to be an seasoned flyer , having flown planes for ten years . The children 's father was in severe shock after hearing the devastating news and was being treated at a hospital in Argentan last night , reports France Bleu . The plane was rented from the Argentan flying club and crashed in the town of Vrigny . Emergency services were alerted by a witness who saw the aircraft fall from the sky at around 5.50 pm . The mother was flying a four-seater Robin DR 400 , like the model pictured above .
Experienced flyer crashed with two daughters and son , aged 13 , 11 and 9 . Rented Mr de Phily 400 went down next to a farm in the small town of Vrigny . Twisted wreckage was found 40 minutes after witnesses saw the plane fall . Children 's father said to have been hospitalised after hearing the news .