Key takeaways:
- Claude Guillemot, 69, co-founded Ubisoft with four brothers in 1986.
- A twin-engine Cessna 421 carrying Guillemot and a flight instructor crashed Friday evening near La Baule-Escoublac Airport in western France.
- Authorities said both people aboard were killed, and an investigation into the crash is underway.
Claude Guillemot, one of the five brothers who founded the global video game company Ubisoft, has died in a plane crash in western France, authorities said Saturday. He was 69.
The twin-engine Cessna 421 carrying Guillemot and a flight instructor crashed Friday evening in a field near La Baule-Escoublac Airport on France’s Atlantic coast, La Baule Mayor Franck Louvrier said in a statement. Both people aboard were killed, the mayor said.
An investigation is underway.
An airport official told The Associated Press that the plane went down just before it was due to land at La Baule Airport. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to be publicly named.
Louvrier said Guillemot and the instructor were both licensed and experienced pilots. NBC News reported that local media also said both people aboard the aircraft were killed.
Ubisoft confirmed Guillemot’s death but did not comment further. In a statement to The Associated Press cited by NBC News, the company said Guillemot, a co-founder of Ubisoft and president of the Guillemot Foundation, had died in an accident. The statement did not elaborate.
Guillemot founded Ubisoft in 1986 with his four brothers. The company grew into one of the world’s best-known video game publishers, with franchises including “Assassin’s Creed,” “Just Dance,” “Rayman” and games carrying the “Tom Clancy” name.
The crash occurred near La Baule, a coastal town in western France. Authorities have not released further details about the cause of the crash.
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