Hecto

Newspaper article

Pascal is the father of the Paparazzi project. He was the wizard of the computers, a talented "Alpiniste" and a great human being.

Translation of "La Dépêche" article from 2010/05/24

Pyrenees : dead and ice-bound

A 43 year old Toulouse resident, Pascal Brisset, fell to his death on Saturday afternoon into a crevasse from the north face of the Vignemale Glacier, in the Hautes-Pyrenees.

A member of the Toulouse French Alpine Club, Pascal Brisset was participating in a glacier safety camp. With his fellow climbers he planned to stay overnight at the refuge "Les Oulettes de Gaube". The accident took place on Saturday afternoon around 15:00. A snow bridge collapsed under Pascal's weight. The climber's harness was not attached at the moment and he fell into the newly revealed crevasse.

The rescue team from Pierrefitte-Nestalas arrived on scene shortly after by helicopter.

The body of the climber was located 30 meters deep. The crevasse was only one meter large at the top and narrowed down to 20 centimeters.

The rescue team worked all Saturday afternoon and came back on Sunday morning trying to free the body. A very difficult task due to the narrow crevasse, and the fact that the body was already ice-bound. The rescue team tried everything including a jackhammer to break the ice gangue. The effort ceased at noon on Sunday due to the high risk of rock falls and a hazardous snow. "we had to quit working" said, yesterday, a member of the rescue team, disappointed.

Pascal Brisset will remain a prisoner of his ice coffin for now. In motion, the Vignemale Glacier should give the body back in a few months or years.

From "La dépêche" 4/05/2010 08:43

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Pascal, your work, your project has changed my life. To fly an autonmous plane was only a dream and it came true. It was a great pleasure to meet you at all the interesting places that this project brought us to, work together and have all the talks and chats. Will miss you and all that a lot - Martin

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Looks like it going to be hard not to repeat what Martin said above, so.... Thank you for the ride and I'll miss you. I'm not sure how we're going to keep this thing afloat without you, but don't worry, we'll find a way - Poine

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Pascal, we thank you for everything you learned us. We will never forget the feeling of our first night flights in Toulouse! - The TU Delft MAVlab Team

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Pascal i will light a candle for you. I really cannot find any words to describe the magnitude of your contribution not only to the Paparazzi project but also to the spirit of sharing Knowledge for free. Good Bye my friend. Chris

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Pascal, You were a great friend and role model to us all. Your incredible motivation, ingenuity, and generosity was inspirational and instrumental to the professional success of many of your followers. I, for one, could not have found my perfect job designing UAVs for Aerovironment if I had not met you and absorbed some of your tremendous knowledge. You have significanly shaped the direction of my life and will always remain a part of me.
-Jeremy

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Not much to add, I only got the chance to meet you once and you wouldn't even let me buy you a beer! You truly embodied the idea of open source and as many have said above, the Paparazzi project had a significant role in my future career and education. Fly Free. - Gareth R

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This is qreat loss to all. He was a kind & humble person and worked very hard on the project. The glacier may have taken him from us but we will keep this great project going. Mark G