Simon de la Bretèche

Simon de la Bretèche (7 August 1982 – 12 April 2022) was a pilot, aeronautical engineer and international aerobatic competitor.

Simon spent his youth in Ancinnes, Sarthe. He made his debut in aeronautics at the age of 14 at the Aéroclub d'Alençon to which he will always remain attached. Then, he trained in aerobatics at the regional aeroclub of Caen with his instructor/mentor: Patrick Gigot. In 2005, he obtained a Master of Science degree in aeronautics from the Institut polytechnique des sciences avancées. He then worked in Toulouse for Sogeclair Aerospace, an Airbus subcontractor.

In May 2020, he was hired by the company Aura Aero as an engineer to work on an aerobatic plane called Integral R. He died with his colleague and friend Baptiste Vignes following the crash of a prototype of this plane at during a test flight. The BEA-É released an investigation report. A judicial investigation by the Ariège gendarmerie group and the air transport gendarmerie. is still underway.