Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, whose death in a helicopter crash was announced Monday, is the latest major political leader to die in a plane crash. These are some of the best known among others:
2024: former Chilean president Sebastián Piñera
On February 6, 2024, former Chilean President Sebastián Piñera (serving from 2010 to 2014 and then from 2018 to 2022) died in a helicopter crash in Lago Ranco, a vacation spot 920 kilometers (570 mi) to the south. from the capital, Santiago.
2010: President of Poland, Lech Kaczynski
On April 10, 2010, a Tupolev 154 with 96 people on board, including Polish President Lech Kaczynski and senior political and military figures, crashed while attempting to land in thick fog at an airport near Smolensk, in the western Russia.
There were no survivors. The accident was attributed to bad weather and errors by Polish pilots and Russian air traffic controllers.
2005: Sudanese rebel leader-turned-vice president John Garang
On July 30, 2005, John Garang, the former separatist rebel leader who became vice president of Sudan, died when his helicopter crashed in Sudan on a flight returning from Uganda.
2004: Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski
Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski died along with eight others when his plane crashed on February 26, 2004, as it was preparing to land in thick fog in the southern Bosnian city of Mostar.
1994: Presidents Juvenal Habyarimana of Rwanda and Cyprien Ntaryamira of Burundi
On April 6, 1994, a Falcon 50 carrying Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana and his Burundi counterpart Cyprien Ntaryamira was shot down over Kigali by at least one missile.
The attack is considered the spark that sparked the genocide of Tutsis that left at least 800,000 dead, according to the United Nations.
1988: Pakistani president Zia ul-Haq
Pakistani President Zia ul-Haq was among the victims of a plane crash on August 17, 1988 near Bahawalpur in the east of the country.
1986: President of Mozambique, Samora Machel
On October 19, 1986, Mozambique's first president, Samora Machel, died when his Tupolev 134 crashed in northeastern South Africa.
1961: UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjöld
On September 17 or 18, 1961, a plane carrying UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold crashed in Northern Rhodesia, now Zambia, while attempting to negotiate a ceasefire between warring factions in the former Belgian Congo. The cause of the accident has never been established.
