List of heads of state and government who died in aviation accidents and incidents

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a list of notable heads of state and heads of government who have died from aviation accidents, usually while in office.

Heads of state[edit]

Name Title Date Place Country Type Aircraft model
Adolf II, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe[1] last ruler of the Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe. 26 March 1936 Zumpango  Mexico Airplane accident Ford Trimotor
José Félix Estigarribia[2] President of Paraguay 7 September 1940 Altos  Paraguay Airplane accident Potez 25
Ramon Magsaysay[2] President of the Philippines 17 March 1957 Balamban, Cebu  Philippines Airplane accident Douglas C-47 Skytrain
Nereu Ramos[3] President of Brazil 16 June 1958 São José dos Pinhais  Brazil Airplane accident Convair CV-440 Metropolitan
Abdul Salam Arif[4][2] President of Iraq 13 April 1966 Baghdad  Iraq Airplane accident de Havilland Dove
Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco[5][6] President of Brazil 18 July 1967 Fortaleza  Brazil Airplane accident Piper PA-23
René Barrientos[2] President of Bolivia 27 April 1969 Arque  Bolivia Helicopter accident Hughes 369
Ahmed Ould Bouceif[7] Leader of the Military Junta of Mauritania 27 January 1979 Dakar  Senegal Airplane accident de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou
Jaime Roldós Aguilera[4][2] President of Ecuador 24 May 1981 Huairapungo  Ecuador Airplane accident Beechcraft Super King Air
Omar Torrijos[4][2] Military Leader of Panama 31 July 1981 Penonomé  Panama Airplane accident De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter
Samora Machel[4][2] President of Mozambique 19 October 1986 Mbuzini  South Africa Airplane accident (disputed) Tupolev Tu-134
Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq[4][2] President of Pakistan 17 August 1988 Bahawalpur  Pakistan Airplane accident (disputed) Lockheed C-130 Hercules
Juvénal Habyarimana[4][2] President of Rwanda 6 April 1994 Kigali  Rwanda Airplane shootdown Dassault Falcon 50
Cyprien Ntaryamira[2] President of Burundi
Boris Trajkovski[4][2] President of North Macedonia 26 February 2004 Mostar  Bosnia and Herzegovina Airplane accident Beechcraft Super King Air
Muhammadu Maccido[8] Sultan of Sokoto State 29 October 2006 Abuja  Nigeria Airplane accident Boeing 737
Lech Kaczyński[4][2] President of Poland 10 April 2010 Smolensk  Russia Airplane accident Tupolev Tu-154
Ryszard Kaczorowski[2] Last President of the Polish government-in-exile
Sebastián Piñera[9] former President of Chile 6 February 2024 Lake Ranco  Chile Helicopter accident Robinson R44

Heads of government[edit]

Name Title Date Place Country Type Aircraft model
Arvid Lindman[4] former Prime Minister of Sweden 9 December 1936 Croydon, London  United Kingdom Airplane accident Douglas DC-2
Władysław Sikorski[4] Prime Minister of Poland (in exile) 4 July 1943 Gibraltar  United Kingdom Airplane accident (disputed) Consolidated B-24 Liberator
Barthélemy Boganda[4][2] Prime Minister of the Central African Republic 29 March 1959 Boukpayanga  Central African Republic Airplane accident (disputed) Nord Noratlas
Joël Rakotomalala[10] Prime Minister of Madagascar 30 July 1976 Antsirabe  Madagascar Helicopter accident Aérospatiale Alouette III
Džemal Bijedić[4] Prime Minister of Yugoslavia 18 January 1977 Kreševo  Yugoslavia Airplane accident Learjet 25
Francisco de Sá Carneiro[11] Prime Minister of Portugal 4 December 1980 Camarate  Portugal Airplane accident (disputed) Cessna 421
Rashid Karami[12] Prime Minister of Lebanon 1 June 1987 Beirut  Lebanon Helicopter bombing Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma
Abdul Rahim Ghafoorzai[13] Prime minister of Afghan Northern Alliance 21 August 1997 Bamyan  Afghanistan Airplane accident Antonov An-32

International organizations[edit]

Name Title Date Place Country Type Aircraft model
Dag Hammarskjöld[4] United Nations Secretary-General of the United Nations 18 September 1961 Ndola  Rhodesia and Nyasaland Airplane accident (disputed) Douglas DC-6

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Mexico City, Mexico Plane Crash Kills 14, Mar 1936". GenDisasters.com. 23 January 2016. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Presidents and leaders involved in aircraft accidents". Aviation Safety Network. 23 January 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  3. ^ Moacir Pereira (16 June 2014). "Acidente que matou Jorge Lacerda e Nereu Ramos mudou rumo da política em Santa Catarina". Diário Catarinense. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m BBC News (23 January 2016). "Leaders killed in air accidents". BBC News Europe. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  5. ^ "Castelo Branco of Brazil Killed in Plane Collision". The New York Times. 18 July 1967. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
  6. ^ Skidmore, Thomas E. (1988). The Politics of Military Rule in Brazil, 1964-85. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 72. ISBN 9780195362626. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
  7. ^ "Colonel ahmed Ould Bouceif". Mauritania National Army. 23 January 2016. Archived from the original on 21 February 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  8. ^ "Sultan Muhammad Maccido Killed In Nigeria Airplane Crash". Eagle World News. 23 January 2016. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  9. ^ "Sebastian Pinera, former president of Chile, dies in helicopter crash". Reuters. 6 February 2024. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  10. ^ Sud Aviation SE 3160 Accidents of Alouette III, by ASN Aviation Safety Database (consulted 11 May 2022).
  11. ^ The Telegraph Europe (23 January 2016). "Death of Lech Kaczynski: political leaders who have died in plane crashes". The Telegraph. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  12. ^ Los Angeles Times News (23 January 2016). "The World : Lebanon Leader in Crash". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  13. ^ Niezwykle Madre Rzeczy (23 January 2016). "List of fatalities from aviation accidents". Retrieved 23 January 2016.[permanent dead link]