These people died in plane crashes

Raisi’s crash is the latest in a series of civilian casualties. In recent decades there have been many dramatic aviation events around the world in which presidents, political figures, and celebrities have lost their lives – an overview from the 1980s:

On February 6, 2024, former President Piñera died in a helicopter crash in Lago Ranco, southern Chile. Piñera served two terms as president, from 2010 to 2014 and from 2018 to 2022.

Russian mercenary leader Wagner dies in private jet crash en route to St. Petersburg. The crash came two months after the Wagner Group’s aborted revolt against Russian President Putin. According to U.S. and other Western officials, preliminary intelligence reports led Russia to believe that the plane may have been brought down by an explosion on board.

Kobe Bryant’s private Sikorsky S-76 helicopter, a model known for its security and VIP clientele, crashed in 2020 after a flight in thick fog. All nine passengers died.

In 2017, a member of Brazil’s Supreme Court died in a private jet crash. According to investigations, poor visual weather conditions and spatial disorientation are said to have led to the accident. More than two hundred politicians and businessmen may have been involved in the fraud case that Javasky was investigating at the time.

At the start of the official campaign phase of the 2014 Brazilian presidential election, the Cessna Cited plane carrying Campos crashed in bad weather in Santos’ residential area, killing all seven on board.

On April 10, 2010, a Tupolew 154 with 96 people on board, including Polish President Kaczynski and several high-ranking Polish politicians and military officers, crashed on approach to land near the western Russian city of Smolensk. The disaster was attributed to fog, errors by Polish pilots and poor visibility due to errors by Russian air traffic controllers.

On July 30, 2005, Sudanese Vice President John Garang was short-lived when his helicopter crashed on a flight back from Uganda. Garang was previously the leader of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), which fought for South Sudan’s independence in 2011.

On February 26, 2004, the plane belonging to Macedonian President Boris Dragovski crashed while approaching Mostar in southern Bosnia. The president and eight prisoners died.

Singer and actress Aaliyah died in a plane crash in 2001 due to the pilot’s consumption of cocaine and alcohol.

John F. Kennedy Jr. died in 1999 when the light plane he was flying crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. Kennedy’s wife, Caroline Bessett, and his brother-in-law, Lauren Bessett, also died on board. An official investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) concluded that Kennedy suffered spatial disorientation while landing over water at night and subsequently lost control of his aircraft.

On April 6, 1994, a Falcon 50 was shot down by at least one missile over Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. On board were the two presidents of Rwanda and Burundi, Juvenal Habyarimana and Cyprien Ndariamira. The attack is seen as one of the triggers for the East African country’s subsequent war and genocide against the Tutsi ethnic group.

Pakistan’s President Zia ul-Haq was among those killed in a plane crash near Bahawalpur on August 17, 1988.

Zamora Machel, the first president of the Independent Republic of Mozambique, died on October 19, 1986, along with 24 others, when a Tupolew 134 crashed in the northeast of neighboring South Africa.