Claude Guillemot, one of the five Guillemot brothers who in 1986 collectively founded Ubisoft, the maker of Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry, has reportedly died in a plane crash in the French commune of La Baule-Escoublac, Loire-Atlantique. Per information reported by the Loire-Atlantique SDIS 44 fire and rescue services, the 69-year-old co-founder was one of two victims, alongside the unidentified owner of the Cessna 421 aircraft.
As reported by Ouest-France (via Franceinfo), the Cessna 421 aircraft crashed in a field near the La Baule aerodrome at some point in the afternoon (CET) on June 19. While the cause of the crash is currently unconfirmed, the mayor of La Baule, Franck Louvrier, has issued an official statement (via ICI). “It was a Cessna 421, a twin-engine propeller, with eight seats[…]The plane was on approach for the landing phase, when, according to witnesses, it made a turn and crashed,” stated Louvrier (machine translated from French).
Both victims’ families have already been notified of their passing.
According to ICI’s report, the Cessna 421 burst into flames upon crashing, setting fire to several football fields’ worth of vegetation. ICI reports that sixty firefighters and thirty ambulances were mobilized in an attempt to tackle the blaze and search for a potential third victim, although SDIS 44’s fire and rescue department stated that the search proved to be “futile.” Flags were flown at half-mast at the La Baule aerodrome today, June 20, as a tribute to the victims.
Claude Guillemot founded Ubisoft on March 28, 1986, alongside his four brothers, Yves, Michel, Christian, and Gérard. At the time of his passing, Claude Guillemot was the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Guillemot Corporation. The Guillemot Corporation specialized in developing audio and gaming accessories, and was founded by the Guillemot family in 1985 as a computer hardware distributor. Its initial success resulted in the Guillemot brothers founding Ubisoft.
The Guillemot family has retained shareholder control of the global gaming publisher since its founding through at least one attempted hostile takeover and a recent corporate restructuring amid struggling sales.