Christian Marty
Christian Henri Marty 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.
Athletic career
Marty specialized in long-distance windsurfing, as well as rally driving, cycling, skiing, and hang-gliding. In 1980, Marty windsurfed from Nice, France, to Calvi, Corsica, covering a distance of.Equipped with a specially designed sailboard and accompanied by a supply boat, he embarked from Dakar, Senegal on his first, though unsuccessful, attempt to cross the Atlantic Ocean on 28 November 1981. His second attempt, on 12 December 1981, was successful and he arrived in Kourou, French Guiana, on 18 January 1982, making him the first person to cross the Atlantic on a sailboard. In total he covered a distance of in nearly 38 days.
Aviation career
Marty obtained his pilot's license on 12 July 1967. 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 Airbus A300, A320 family|A320], and A340, the Boeing 727 and 737, as well as the Concorde.He joined the elite ranks of pilots certified to fly Concorde airliners on 16 August 1999.