Tuesday 14th January 1986

The founder and organiser of the Dakar rally, Thierry Sabine (36), was killed when his Ecureuil helicopter crashed into a dune at Mali during a sudden sand-storm. Also killed onboard was the singer-songwriter Daniel Balavoine, helicopter pilot François-Xavier Bagnoud, journalist Nathalie Odent and Jean-Paul Lefur who was a radiophonic engineer for RTL. He was featured in the movie A Man and a Woman: 20 Years Later that came out in 1986.