Christian Marty

Christian Marty (16 December 1946 – 25 July 2000) was a French aviator who served as the captain of Air France Flight 4590. Prior to the crash, Marty was an athlete in extreme sports.

Christian Marty
Born(1946-12-16)16 December 1946
Paris, France
Died25 July 2000(2000-07-25) (aged 53)
Gonesse (near Charles de Gaulle Airport), France
NationalityFrench
OccupationPilot, athlete
Known forBeing the first person to windsurf across the Atlantic ocean and as the captain of Air France Flight 4590
Spouse(s)1
Children2
For other uses, see Marty.

Athletic career

Marty was specialized in long-distance windsurfing, as well as rally driving, cycling, skiing, and hang-gliding.[1] In 1980, Marty windsurfed from Nice, France, to Calvi, Corsica, windsurfing 169 kilometres (105 mi; 91 nmi).[2] In 1981 Marty became the first person to windsurf across the Atlantic Ocean, using a specially equipped sailboard and accompanied by a supply boat.[3] His first attempt was on 28 November 1981. He left Dakar, Senegal, but was unsuccessful.[4] His second attempt was on 12 December 1981 during which an incident occurred when Marty fell off his sailboard at nighttime. However, his flashlight on his sailboard was on, and Marty was able to swim back and climb back onto his board safely, and continued the trip without any other incident.[5] The second attempt was a success, with Marty arriving in Kourou, French Guiana, on 18 January 1982. Marty had traveled a total 4,222 kilometres (2,623 mi; 2,280 nmi),[4][6] in 37 days, 16 hours and four minutes.[3] Marty had previously lived in Guadeloupe for two years,[4] and had previously windsurfed 161 kilometres (100 mi; 87 nmi) from Guadeloupe to Martinique in the Caribbean.

Aviation career

Marty had been an airplane pilot since 12 July 1967.[7] In 1969, he got his commercial pilot's license and started working for Air France. Marty served as a pilot and flight instructor on various aircraft, including the Boeing 727 and 737, as well as the Airbus A300, A320, and A340.[8] He became a Concorde captain on 16 August 1999.[7][9]

Death

On 25 July 2000, Marty served as captain of Air France Flight 4590 from Paris to New York City, accompanied by first officer Jean Marcot and flight engineer Gilles Jardinaud. However, during the take-off roll, the aircraft's landing gear struck a metal strip on the runway, which punctured the tire and the fuel tank, causing an in-flight fire.[10]:14

Media and eyewitnesses viewed Marty as a hero as he flew the aircraft towards a less populated area, in an attempt to prevent people on the ground from being killed. However the aircraft lost control and crashed into a hotel in Gonesse, near Charles de Gaulle Airport, killing all 109 people on board (including Marty and his crew) and four more people on the ground.[11]

Bibliography
  • Marty, Christian (3 October 1984). L'atlantique À Mains Nues [The Atlantic with bare hands] (in French). ISBN 2851083058.

References
  1. "Pilot was one of few to have windsurfed across the Atlantic". The Independent. 18 April 2009. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  2. Sagert, Kelly Boyer (30 December 2008). Encyclopedia of Extreme Sports. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9780313344732. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  3. McWhirter, Norris (1988). The Guinness book of records. Guinness Superlatives. ISBN 9780851128788. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  4. "Atlantique: La Premiere Traversee!" [Atlantic: The First Cross!]. www.tainosgpe.com (in French). Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  5. "A Tribute to Christian Marty". American Windsurfer. 2 March 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  6. Taelman, René (2 March 2015). Les 100 plus grands sportifs de tous les temps: De Jesse Owens à Lionel Messi [The 100 greatest sportsmen of all time: From Jesse Owens to Lionel Messi] (in French). Primento. ISBN 9782390090250. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  7. Beaufey, Jean-Pierre (6 November 2017). Concorde Sierra Charlie: Vol AF 4590 - Mardi 25 juillet 2000 [Concorde Sierra Charlie: Flight AF 4590 - Tuesday 25 July 2000] (in French). Nombre7 Editions. ISBN 9782368323113. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  8. Massé, Xavier (2004). Avion Concorde: de l'évocation en 1943 au dernier vol en 2003 [Concorde plane: from the evocation in 1943 to the last flight in 2003] (in French). Nouvelles Editions Latines. ISBN 9782723320450. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  9. "Concorde Disaster: Hero was first Frenchman to windsurf Atlantic". Free Online Library. 28 July 2000. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  10. "Accident on 25 July 2000 at La Patte d'Oie in Gonesse (95) to the Concorde registered F-BTSC operated by Air France" (PDF). bea.aero. Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety. 16 January 2002. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
  11. Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Aérospatiale / BAC Concorde 101 F-BTSC Gonesse". aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
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