Pierre Sparaco, a European aerospace journalist whose career spanned more than 50 years writing in English and French, died on August 3 in Aix-en-Provence, France, at the age of 75. Among other positions, he is known for having been the editor of Aviation Magazine in France until 1992. He then joined Aviation Week, where he eventually became European bureau chief. In 2005 he officially retired but quickly moved back to writing, notably for AeroMorning and then Aerobuzz, in addition to a column in Aviation Week. Sparaco authored a number of books, including exhaustive histories of the Concorde program and Airbus.

Although he was widely seen by other journalists as a tough competitor for his considerable knowledge and hard work in chasing exclusive news, he was rather modest, quick to admit the limits of his expertise. He was also friendly when it came to helping young colleagues in aerospace journalism, and many reporters in Europe will remember him as an example to follow.