The deputy and captain of industry Olivier Dassault, son of Serge Dassault, died Sunday evening at the age of 69 in the crash of his helicopter in Touques, near Deauville, in Calvados, as revealed by Le Parisien .
An investigation has been opened for manslaughter.
What happened ?
Olivier Dassault lost his life at the end of the afternoon in a helicopter crash.
The accident occurred in Touques, in Calvados, while the parliamentarian was returning from a weekend in Deauville towards the Oise.
It was around 5:15 p.m. that the machine - an AS350 Ecureuil belonging to Serge Dassault's son - stalled before crashing near his private property.
The pilot of the aircraft also died in the accident.
The helicopter's blades would have hit the branches of a tree seconds after takeoff, according to a source close to the investigation.
What legal consequences?
“We are opening a judicial investigation for manslaughter.
I am on site, it is dark.
Technical investigations will not start until tomorrow.
We are proceeding with acts relating to the bodies, ”declared Delphine Mienniel, public prosecutor of Lisieux, confirming the death of Olivier Dassault and the pilot.
Investigators from the Bureau of Investigation and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety will be on site on Monday.
The BEA said in a tweet that the aircraft, an Aérospatiale AS350 Ecureuil, had crashed "on take-off", carried out "from private land".
⚠️ Fatal accident of a helicopter @airbusheli # AS350 which occurred today in #Touques / Accident taking off from private land / @BEA_Aero opens a safety investigation.
- BEA ✈️ 🚁🛩 🇫🇷 (@BEA_Aero) March 7, 2021
The investigation was entrusted to the research section of the Air Transport Gendarmerie to try to clarify the circumstances of this tragedy.
Who was Olivier Dassault?
A well-known figure in the political class, Forbes magazine ranked Olivier Dassault as the 361st world fortune in 2020, tied with his two brothers and his sister with around 5 billion euros each.
After the death of his grandfather, Marcel Dassault, in 1986, his father, Serge, had appointed him deputy director of Europe Falcon Service and director of civil aircraft strategy for the company Dassault Aviation, manufacturing aircraft of Rafale combat and Falcon business jets.
In 2011, he was appointed chairman of the supervisory board of the Dassault group, placing him in a good position to one day take over the family holding company.
But seven years later, a few months before the death of his father, he announced his decision to resign from the presidency of the supervisory board of the family holding company "because of incompatibility with his mandate as deputy".
However, his mandate as director of Dassault Aviation was renewed for four years in May 2019. Olivier Dassault had been a Les Républicains (LR) member of the Oise since 2002. “I am in shock.
Today, I am losing a friend, ”reacted the mayor of Beauvais, Caroline Cayeux, who was still with him last Friday when Prime Minister Jean Castex came to town.
Chain reactions
Immediately after the announcement of his death, many political figures paid tribute to him.
Prime Minister Jean Castex hailed "a humanist deputy, a visionary entrepreneur, a man deeply committed to his country, an artist with elegant daring".
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“I am thinking of his family and loved ones who must feel terrible pain,” reacted the President of the National Assembly, Richard Ferrand.
His counterpart in the Senate, Gérard Larcher, said he was "very touched by the sudden disappearance" of a "recognized business man and active and committed MP".
Olivier Dassault loved France.
Captain of industry, deputy, local elected, reserve commander in the air force: his life throughout, he never ceased to serve our country, to promote its assets.
His sudden death is a great loss.
Thoughts of his family and loved ones.
- Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) March 7, 2021
Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to the LR deputy, who died in the accident just like the pilot of the aircraft.
“Olivier Dassault loved France.
Captain of industry, deputy, local elected, reserve commander in the air force: his life throughout, he never ceased to serve our country, to promote its assets.
His sudden death is a great loss, ”tweeted the head of state