Air France pilot dies in California after fatal fall

A pilotAir France tragically fell 350 meters from a cliff in Sequoia National Park in the southern mountains of Sierra Nevada in California during a layover, the airline and local law enforcement confirmed.

The body of Tom Gerbier, a co-pilot of the Boeing 777was found by a rescue helicopter in an area of ​​the park known as “ The Notch » after the region’s search and rescue service launched an appeal to find the keen hiker. The pilot went to Los Angeles on Air France flight AF66 from Paris and headed directly from the airport to prepare for his hike to the summit of Mount Whitneythe highest peak in the country outside of Alaska.

The local sheriff’s department said Gerbier did not return from his day hike as planned and then failed to show up for his flight back to France, leading to cancellation of the Air France AF77 on Wednesday evening.