Caroline Aigle

Did You Know?

• Aigle was pregnant when diagnosed with rapidly progressing cancer and refused an abortion; her son Gabriel was delivered by caesarean section five-and-a-half months into term, fifteen days before her death.
• She and her husband already had one other child.
• President Sarkozy posthumously awarded her the Médaille de l'Aéronautique on 2 October 2007.

Background

Aigle spent her early years in Africa, where her father served as a military physician. At age fourteen she entered the Lycée militaire de Saint-Cyr for three years, then attended Prytanée Militaire and the École Polytechnique. During her first year at Polytechnique she served with the 13th Battalion of the Chasseurs Alpins, and her final year at the École de l'Air.

Career

Caroline Aigle joined the French Air Force after finishing at the Polytechnique. On 28 May 1999, she made history as the first woman to earn the service's fighter pilot wings. Starting in 2000, she flew the Mirage 2000-5 with the 2/2 "Côte-d'Or" squadron, and she reached the rank of Commandant in 2005. She was a strong contender for a spot as a European Space Agency astronaut. By the time she died, she had logged 1,600 flight hours. An accomplished athlete, she represented the Air Force in competitions, winning the 1997 French military triathlon title and the 1997 world military team triathlon championship. In 1999, her team took the world military vice-championship. She also practiced skydiving and free-fall parachuting.