Dassault Aviation's French billionaire Olivier Dassault died in a Helicopter crash

As per recent reports, French Member of Parliament and billionaire Oliver Dassault was killed in a helicopter crash at around 6 pm on Sunday, 7 March, along with the pilot of the aircraft near Deuville, northern France, investigations have revealed that there was no one else on board the helicopter. 

Born in Boulogne-Billancourt, Oliver Dassault was the son of Serge Dassault and his wife Nicole (née Raffel) and the grandson of Marcel Dassault. Dassault graduated from École de l'air as a combat engineering officer and pilot in 1974. He was then a reserve member of the French Air Force.

Dassault was a descendant of the founding family that runs Dassault Aviation which builds Rafale fighter planes. The Rafale jets built by Dassault aviation serve as a backbone of the French Air & Space Force (FASF) and they are also the most advanced jets in the Indian Airforce's inventory.

French President Emmanuel Macron offered condolences to the 69-year-old  Republican MP in a tweet, saying, "Olivier Dassault loved France. Captain of industry, lawmaker, local elected official, reserve commander in the air force: during his life, he never ceased to serve our country, to capitalize on his strengths. His sudden death is a great loss. Thoughts for his family and loved ones."

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Olivier Dassault aimait la France. Capitaine d’industrie, député, élu local, commandant de réserve dans l’armée de l’air : sa vie durant, il ne cessa de servir notre pays, d’en valoriser les atouts. Son décès brutal est une grande perte. Pensées à sa famille et à ses proches.

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) March 7, 2021

He stepped down from the board of Dassault Aviation to pursue his political ambitions and has been a lawmaker for Les Republicains. Dassault was known to be the 361st richest man in the world, with an inheritance to a fortune of over 6 billion euros ($7.15 billion), according to Forbes Magazine’s 2020 list.