French aviation billionaire, pilot die in helicopter crash

PARIS (AP) — A French billionaire aviation industrialist and member of parliament has died in a helicopter crash along with the pilot. Olivier Dassault was heir to a powerful family business empire that made Falcon private jets and Rafale fighter planes and owned many other businesses. A judicial inquiry for eventual manslaughter charges is under way after Sunday’s crash, according to the regional prosecutor’s office in Normandy. The French national air accident investigation agency said the Airbus AS350 helicopter crashed just after takeoff from a private airfield.