Witnesses say pilot averted Concorde from populated area

Friends, colleagues pay tribute to 'hero'

In this story: Athlete who once windsurfed across Atlantic 'A calm, committed pilot' RELATED STORIES, SITES

From CNN and wire reports

GONESSE, France -- Residents in the French town of Gonesse have paid tribute to the Concorde pilot who they believe steered the burning aircraft away from more populated areas of the town.

Pilot Christian Marty was among the 113 people who died when the plane plunged to the ground in flames after taking off from Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris.

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Pierre Blazy, mayor of Gonesse, said Marty's presence of mind had avoided a greater catastrophe.

"It is clear, according to witnesses, that at the last moment, when the plane was about to fly over the hospital and the town, the pilot directed the craft over the field," he said.

The Rev. Claude Porcheron, priest of the town's St. Peter and St. Paul parish, said, "It's the most beautiful act in the world."

"For me, the pilot is a hero," Gonesse resident Jean-Marie Alexandre, who saw the crash, said. "He made a big swing to the left to avoid crashing onto Gonesse or the N17 autoroute. He knew what was happening and tried to avoid any more deaths."

Athlete who once windsurfed across Atlantic

Born in the southern French town of Saint Laurent du Var, Marty was a keen sportsman who once windsurfed across the Atlantic.

The 54-year-old, who leaves a widow, made the 2,400-mile crossing from Senegal in West Africa to French Guyana in South America in 1981 in 37 days.

During the crossing, Marty refused an offer from an accompanying sailboat to tow him while he slept on his sailboard.

"I simply want to know how far I can go, that's all -- I'm not competing against anyone," Marty said shortly before embarking on his journey.

After first flying a plane in 1969, he became the pilot of, and an instructor for, the Airbus A340 before qualifying as a Concorde captain just over a year ago.

His colleague, Eric Derivry, said Marty was "a great sportsman, very sharp mentally and physically -- he was at the very highest level.

"During stopovers, he would take his bike with him and then we would see him leaving to climb mountains," Derivry said.

'A calm, committed pilot'

Bernard Pedamon, a fellow pilot and friend, said: "He was an exceptionally competent man, admired and liked by everyone at Air France who knew him."

"He was a humble man and a very, very professional one," Pierre-Jean Loisel, another Air France captain, said. "I'll always remember him as a calm, committed pilot who was also a sportsman at heart."

Regional French newspapers paid tribute to Marty. Nice Matin newspaper spoke of Marty's passion for flying in any form -- whether swooping across the skies on a hang glider, or taking command of "the most beautiful, most powerful and most difficult (jetliner) to conquer."

"On Tuesday, in the skies of Gonesse, if (Marty) was unable to regain control of the 'grand and beautiful bird' his airline had entrusted him to fly -- no-one else would have been able to do so either. There was simply nothing he could have done."

Gerard Feldzer, president of the Aero-Club de France, told regional newspaper, Sud Ouest: "All the pilots shared the same feelings about Christian. He had great respect for his flying colleagues and was extraordinarily kind."

Reuters contributed to this report.

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