1878-1909
Eugène Ernest Arsène Lefebvre was born in Corbie in northern
France on October 4th, 1878. He was the son of a successful civil
engineer and was himself educated at the "Institut Industriel du
Nord de France" in Lille. During his youth he was a successful
bicycle racer. After his graduation he joined a company that built and
installed refrigeration machinery for ships, for which he spent three
years in Russia.
After returning to France he was hired as an engineer by Ariel, the
French Wright producers. He taught himself to fly the planes when the
normal company pilots, Paul Tissandier and Charles de Lambert, were not
available during a tour in the Netherlands. He made his first flight on
July 18th, 1909. He participated in the 1909 Grande Semaine
d'Aviation of Reims, where he finished fourth in the Gordon Bennett
Trophy race. His spectacular displays at Reims arguably qualify him as
the world's first aerobatic flyer.
Unfortunately he survived less than two weeks after the Grande Semaine.
On September 7th, 1909 he became the world's first pilot to be
killed in an accident when a Wright, which he was testing before
delivery, suddenly dived into the ground from an altitude of six meters
at Port-Aviation outside Paris. The reason was probably elevator
control failure. Lefebvre suffered head injuries and died immediately.
Lefebvre never qualified for a "Brevet de Pilote".
Eugène Lefebvre participated in the following air race
meetings:
- Reims 1909