French billionaire MP Olivier Dassault dies in helicopter crash
Skip to main content
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Splash
    • Videos
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Sunday
June 26, 2022

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Splash
    • Videos
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
SUNDAY, JUNE 26, 2022
French billionaire MP Olivier Dassault dies in helicopter crash

World+Biz

BSS/AFP
08 March, 2021, 09:20 am
Last modified: 08 March, 2021, 09:30 am

Related News

  • French parties brush off Macron appeal to unblock parliament
  • France risks gridlock after Macron handed hung parliament
  • Emmanuel Macron learns the art of compromising the hard way
  • French left pulls off election gamble, but unity going forward not so easy
  • French election: Macron loses absolute majority in parliament in 'democratic shock'

French billionaire MP Olivier Dassault dies in helicopter crash

The Dassault Aviation group has been a leading French plane manufacturer for the last 70 years and is behind the Falcon private jet, the Mirage warplane, and most recently the state-of-the art Rafale fighter

BSS/AFP
08 March, 2021, 09:20 am
Last modified: 08 March, 2021, 09:30 am
French politician Olivier Dassault arrives at the Elysee Palace for an official dinner for Saudi Arabia's Prince Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in Paris September 1, 2014. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann/File Photo
French politician Olivier Dassault arrives at the Elysee Palace for an official dinner for Saudi Arabia's Prince Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in Paris September 1, 2014. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann/File Photo

French billionaire Olivier Dassault, a politician and scion of the Dassault aircraft-making family, was killed in a helicopter crash on Sunday.

Dassault, 69 and a father-of-three, died around 6 pm (1700 GMT) when his helicopter crashed near the upmarket coastal resort of Deauville in northwest France, parliamentary and investigation sources told AFP.

French President Emmanuel Macron led tributes, saying in a tweet that "Olivier Dassault loved France. Captain of industry, local MP, reserve commander in the air force; throughout his life he never stopped serving our country".

Macron called his death "a great loss" and sent his condolences to the Dassault family, one of the most influential in France with interests spanning aeronautics, defence, auctioneering, wine and the media.

The Dassault Aviation group has been a leading French plane manufacturer for the last 70 years and is behind the Falcon private jet, the Mirage warplane, and most recently the state-of-the art Rafale fighter.

Forbes magazine estimated that Olivier Dassault was the 361st most wealthy person on the planet in 2020, with a fortune estimated at around five billion euros ($6 billion) — around the same as his three siblings.

Involuntary Manslaughter Inquiry 

France's national air crash investigation agency, the BEA, said in a tweet that the crash had occurred shortly after take-off from "private grounds".

The weather in Deauville was sunny with low wind on Sunday.

Sources close to the inquiry indicated that the pilot of the helicopter was also killed and that no-one else was on board.

An involuntary manslaughter investigation was opened by prosecutors.

The civil aviation Bureau of Investigations and Analysis said in a tweet that the helicopter, an Aerospatiale AS350 Ecureuil (Squirrel), had crashed "on take-off".

A search area around the crash site was sealed off and the air transport place put in charge of the enquiry.

French Prime Minister Jean Castex hailed Dassault as "a humanist MP, a visionary entrepreneur, a man deeply committed to his country".

Richard Ferrand, president of the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament in which Dassault served as a representative for the Oise area of northern France, said he was thinking of Dassault's family and friends "who must feel terrible pain".

Famed Family

Olivier was the grandson of Marcel Bloch, a famed aeronautical engineer who changed his name to "Dassault" which means "on the attack" in French.

After helping to develop an innovative propeller used on French aircraft in World War I, Marcel was imprisoned during World War II and deported to a Nazi concentration camp after refusing to collaborate with Germany's aviation industry.

Control of Dassault Aviation passed to Olivier's father Serge, but he had not named an heir to succeed him when he died in 2018 after suffering heart failure at his Paris office.

Olivier once declared himself "the most qualified" of Serge's four children, earning a stern public rebuke from his father.

He appeared to be on track to take the reins but shortly before his father's death he resigned as chairman of the group's supervisory board because he said the role was incompatible with his parliamentary duties.

Many of Dassault's colleagues on the political right paid tribute to a man who was also a passionate photographer, a pilot, and a composer of music.

As well as a majority stake in the family's aviation group, the Dassaults own their own vineyard in Bordeaux and the influential right-wing newspaper Le Figaro.

Top News

Olivier Dassault / French billionaire / France / helicopter crash / Dassault Aviation group

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Photo: Mumit M
    Padma Bridge opens to traffic
  • Photo: PMO Press Wing
    PM salutes people, opens Padma Bridge
  • Photo: PMO Press Wing
    Her moment of glory, our moment of pride

MOST VIEWED

  • Ukrainian service members watch while a tank (not pictured) fires toward Russian troops in the industrial area of the city of Sievierodonetsk, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, Ukraine June 20, 2022. Photo: Reuters
    Ukraine confirms fall of Sievierodonetsk after weeks-long fight
  • People protest the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v Wade abortion decision in New York City, New York, US on 24 June 2022. Photo: Reuters
    Abortion rights activists face first day of post-Roe v Wade American life
  • A Malaysia Ringgit note is seen in this illustration photo on 1 June 2017. Reuters Illustration/Files
    Malaysia plans record $18 billion subsidy spend in inflation fight
  • A view shows a damaged mosque after the recent earthquake in Wor Kali village in the Barmal district of Paktika province, Afghanistan on 25 June 2022. Photo: Reuters
    Taliban appeal for more aid after deadly Afghanistan earthquake
  • US President Joe Biden signs S. 2938: Bipartisan Safer Communities Act into law from the Roosevelt Room at the White House as first lady Jill Biden stands next to him in Washington, US on 25 June 2022. Photo: Reuters
    Biden signs bipartisan gun safety bill into law; takes swipe at Supreme Court
  • Supreme Court Police line up outside the United States Supreme Court as the court rules in the Dobbs v Women's Health Organization abortion case, overturning the landmark Roe v Wade abortion decision in Washington, US on 24 June 2022. Photo: Reuters
    Supreme Court conservatives assert power with abortion, gun rulings

Related News

  • French parties brush off Macron appeal to unblock parliament
  • France risks gridlock after Macron handed hung parliament
  • Emmanuel Macron learns the art of compromising the hard way
  • French left pulls off election gamble, but unity going forward not so easy
  • French election: Macron loses absolute majority in parliament in 'democratic shock'

Features

Photo: TBS

A dream dreamt and then delivered

9h | Panorama
In pictures: 2022 Dhaka Motor Show

In pictures: 2022 Dhaka Motor Show

21h | Wheels
Our team full of hope and mettle, before we entered the disaster zone. PHOTO: SWAMIM AHMED

How we survived 4 days in Sunamganj flood

1d | Panorama
Photo: Bipul Sarker Sunny

Immigrants or refugees: Who really are the Maldoiyas?

1d | Features

More Videos from TBS

Building Padma Bridge a perfect reply to conspirators, says PM Sheikh Hasina

Building Padma Bridge a perfect reply to conspirators, says PM Sheikh Hasina

9h | Videos
Grand opening of Padma Bridge with colorful airshow and festival

Grand opening of Padma Bridge with colorful airshow and festival

9h | Videos
Man travelling barefoot for 47 years walks on Padma Bridge

Man travelling barefoot for 47 years walks on Padma Bridge

10h | Videos
Padma Bridge inauguration draws huge crowd

Padma Bridge inauguration draws huge crowd

14h | Videos

Most Read

1
Photo: Prime Minister's Office
Bangladesh

New investment in transports as Padma Bridge set to open

2
Japan cancels financing Matarbari coal project phase 2
Bangladesh

Japan cancels financing Matarbari coal project phase 2

3
Desco wanted to make a bold statement with their new head office building, a physical entity that would be a corporate icon. Photo: Courtesy
Habitat

Desco head office: When commitment to community and environment inspires architecture

4
Photo: TBS
Infrastructure

Gains from Padma Bridge to cross $10b, hope experts

5
20 businesses get nod for $326m foreign loan for expansion
Economy

20 businesses get nod for $326m foreign loan for expansion

6
Multiple robbery incidents reported in flood stranded Sylhet and Sunamganj
Bangladesh

Multiple robbery incidents reported in flood stranded Sylhet and Sunamganj

EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2022
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab
BENEATH THE SURFACE
Cattle graze on the bank of the River Padma at Paschim Painpara near Jajira end of the Padma Bridge. Photo: Mumit M

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net