Christian Marty

Christian Marty

Born	(1945-11-12)12 November 1945 15th arrondissement of Paris, France
Died	25 July 2000(2000-07-25) (aged 54) Gonesse, France
Cause of death	Aircraft crash
Occupation(s)	Pilot, athlete
Known for	Being the first person to windsurf across the Atlantic Ocean and as the captain of Air France Flight 4590
Spouse	1
Children	2

Christian Henri Marty (12 November 1945 – 25 July 2000) was a French pilot who served as the captain of Air France Flight 4590. Prior to the crash, Marty was an athlete in extreme sports.

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Athletic career

Marty 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, covering a distance of 169 kilometres (105 mi; 91 nmi).^[2]

Equipped with a specially designed sailboard and accompanied by a supply boat,^[3] he embarked from Dakar, Senegal on his first, though unsuccessful, attempt to cross the Atlantic Ocean on 28 November 1981.^[4] His second attempt, on 12 December 1981, was successful and he arrived in arrived in Kourou, French Guiana, on 18 January 1982,^[5] making him the first person to cross the Atlantic on a sailboard. In total he covered a distance of 4,222 kilometres (2,623 mi; 2,280 nmi) in nearly 38 days.^[6]

Aviation career

Marty obtained his pilot's license on 12 July 1967.^[7] Two years later, in 1969, he earned his commercial pilot's license and began flying for the prestigious Air France. During his career, Marty was a pilot and flight instructor, operating a range of aircraft models including the Boeing 727 and 737, as well as the Airbus A300, A320, and A340.^[8]

He joined the elite ranks of pilots certified to fly Concorde airliners on 16 August 1999.^[9]

Death

On 25 July 2000, Marty served as captain onboard Air France Flight 4590, operating the route from Paris to New York City. Accompanied by first officer Jean Marcot and flight engineer Gilles Jardinaud, Marty commenced a routine taxi down the runway to takeoff. During the process, the aircraft's landing gear ran over a metal strip dropped by another aircraft. This damaged a tire, punctured the fuel tank and ignited an in-flight fire. The situation quickly escalated, causing the aircraft to lose control. It crashed into a hotel located in Gonesse, near Charles de Gaulle Airport, claiming the lives of all 109 people onboard the aircraft as well as four additional individuals on the ground.^[10]

Bibliography

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

References

^ "Pilot was one of few to have windsurfed across the Atlantic". The Independent. 18 April 2009. Archived from the original on 1 September 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
^ Sagert, Kelly Boyer (30 December 2008). Encyclopedia of Extreme Sports. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9780313344732. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
^ "The Guinness Book of Records". The Internet Archive. Enfield, United Kingdom. October 1987. p. 164. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
^ "Atlantique: La Premiere Traversee!" [Atlantic: The First Cross!]. www.tainosgpe.com (in French). Archived from the original on 9 February 2019. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
^ "A Tribute to Christian Marty". American Windsurfer. 2 March 2016. Archived from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
^ Taelman, René (2015). Les 100 plus grands sportifs de tous les temps : De Jesse Owens à Lionel Messi [The 100 greatest athletes of all time: From Jesse Owens to Lionel Messi] (in French). OCLC 915311765. Retrieved 13 November 2023 – via WorldCat.
^ Beaufey, Jean-Pierre (2015). Concorde : Sierra Charlie : vol AF 4590, mardi 25 juillet 2000 [Concorde: Sierra Charlie: flight AF 4590, Tuesday July 25, 2000] (in French). OCLC 946646747. Retrieved 13 November 2023 – via WorldCat.
^ Xavier, Massé (2004). Avion Concorde : de l'évocation en 1943 au dernier vol en 2003 [Concorde plane: from the mention in 1943 to the last flight in 2003] (in French). OCLC 300409407. Retrieved 13 November 2023 – via WorldCat.
^ "Concorde Disaster: Hero was first Frenchman to windsurf Atlantic". Free Online Library. 28 July 2000. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Aérospatiale / BAC Concorde 101 F-BTSC Gonesse". Aviation Safety Network. Flight Safety Foundation. Retrieved 21 September 2019.