Baptiste Vignes (15 April 1985 – 12 April 2022) was a French pilot, instructor, and international
aerobatics
Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aeroplane" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and gl ...
champion.
Biography
Vignes grew up in
Le Havre
Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...
and obtained his pilot's license at the Le Havre's Jean-Maridor
flying club
A flying club or aero club is a non-profit organization, not-for-profit, member-run organization that provides its members with affordable access to aircraft.
Many clubs also provide flight training, flight planning facilities, pilot supplies and ...
Eure
Eure ( ; ; or ) is a department in the administrative region of Normandy, northwestern France, named after the river Eure. Its prefecture is Évreux. In 2021, Eure had a population of 598,934. He died with
Simon de la Bretèche
Simon may refer to:
People
* Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon
* Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon
* Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...
following the crash of Aura Aero's "Integral R" aerobatic aircraft prototype during a flight test. An investigation by the French State Aviation Safety Accident Investigation Board was started, as well as a judicial investigation by the Ariège Gendarmerie and the Gendarmerie of air transport.
Career
In 2012, Vignes worked an instructor and aerobatic coach in
Dijon
Dijon (, ; ; in Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Digion'') is a city in and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eas ...
. One year later, he became chief pilot at Top Gun Voltige, a recreational flying company. In 2017 he was recruited by Red Bull to participate in the
Red Bull Air Race World Championship
The World Championship Air Race is a series of air races sanctioned by the World Air Sports Federation (FAI). Originally established in 2003 as the Red Bull Air Race, and created by Red Bull GmbH, the event involves competitors navigating a ...
as a contestant for the 2017 season. In 2018 he became an instructor at the Bernay-Saint-Martin flying club. In 2019, he joined the flight test team at Aura Aero, a French
aerospace manufacturer
An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of Aircraft design process, designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, or spacecraft. Aerospace is a hi ...