Summary

  • Heads of state deaths in aircraft crashes provoke conspiracy theories.
  • Heads of state died in aircraft crashes due to various reasons over the years.
  • Causes of these crashes range from fog and mechanical issues to potential malicious activities.

Recently, the President of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, died after his helicopter crashed into a mountain during thick fog. A few weeks later, the Vice-President of the southern African nation of Malawai also died in a plane crash. Both of these incidents appear to be caused by mechanical malfunctions or pilot errors. However, just as with the John F. Kennedy assassination, the deaths of heads of state in plane crashes frequently spark conspiracy theories and debates about malicious activity. Here are five heads of state who have died in plane crashes since the 1980s.

1

Iran President: Ebrahim Raisi

Ebrahim Raisi has become the latest head of state to perish from an aircraft crash.

Date:

May 19, 2024

Aircraft:

Bell 212 Helicopter

Cause of crash:

likely fog/mechanical malfunction

The Iranian president and everyone onboard the Bell 212 helicopter died after the copter crashed into a mountain in Iran after returning back from a diplomatic mission to Azerbaijan (with which Iran has frosty relations). The helicopter was sold to Iran by the US before the 1979 Revolution and appears to have crashed due to some combination of malfunction and poor weather conditions.

Iranian Bell 212 Navy helicopter

Finding the remote crash site took many hours, and in the end, Iran asked other nations to help with the search missions. The Turks then found the crash site using a Turkish Bayraktar AKINC drone. Raisi served as the eighth president of Iran from 2021 to 2024 and was noted for being a hardliner and cracking down on protestors inside the country.

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2

Poland President: Lech Kaczynski

Almost 100 people died as the aircraft carrying the Polish president crashed in the woods while landing in Russia.

Date:

April 10, 2010

Aircraft:

Tupolev Tu-154

Crash of crash:

thick fog & pilot error (allegations of Russian involvement)

Some 96 people were killed in 2010 when the Soviet/Russian mane Tupolev Tu-154 carrying the Polish president crashed near the city of Smolensk in Russia. In addition to the Polish president, notable victims included his wife (Maria), Ryszard Kaczorowski (the former president of Poland-in-exile), the chief of the Polish General Staff, and other senior Polish military and political figures.

Polish Air Force Tupolev Tu-154

The crash happened as the aircraft attempted to land in thick fog (visibility was around 1,600 feet). The aircraft struck trees and rolled, coming to a stop in a wooded area short of the runway. While stories circulated at the time of possible Russian involvement (Poland and Russia have long had tense relations), the incident has been attributed to the fog and poor pilot training. In 2022, the Associated Press reported a Polish panel claimed Russia was behind the crash. The belief that Russia was involved is commonly believed in Poland.

3

Rwanda President: Juvenal Habyarimana

The shootdown of the Falcon 50 resulted in a rare example of two heads of state dying in a plane crash.

Date:

April 6, 1994

Aircraft:

Dassault Falcon 50

Cause of crash:

surface-to-air missile

1994 was one of the darkest times in post-colonial central Africa. On April 6, 1994, the aircraft carrying Rwandan president Juvenal Habyarimana and Burundi president Cyprien Ntaryamira was shot down with surface-to-air missiles as it was coming into land in Kigali. Both were killed, and it proved the trigger that ignited the brewing ethnic powder keg and set in motion the Rwandan genocide.

A Dassault Falcon 50 flying in the sky.

During the genocide between April 7 and July 19, hundreds of thousands of people were killed across the country. It is still uncertain which group was responsible for the shootdown. A similar incident seemingly happened last year over Moscow as the aircraft carrying Yevgeny Prigozhin (the leader of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner) was apparently shot down (or there could have been a bomb on board).

4

Pakistan President: Muhammad Zia-ul Haq

The crash of the Hercules carrying the Pakistani president has spawned an exceptional number of conspiracy theories.

Date:

August 17, 1988

Aircraft:

C-130B Hercules

Cause of crash:

malfunction (many other theories)

The Pakistan President, Muhammad Zia-ul Haq died in a plane crash along with the US ambassador (Arnold Lewis Raphel) and a number of top Pakistani military officials. The aircraft, a C-130B Hercules, crashed just minutes after taking off in Pakistan. Witnesses described the aircraft as flying erratically before nosediving and exploding upon impact.

Lockheed C130E Hercules Pakistan Air Force

The cause of the crash has spurred many conspiracy theories – with some pointing to the Soviet Union. However, Pakistani and US authorities considered the crash an accident (although they cited different mechanical problems with the aircraft).

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5

North Macedonia: Boris Trajkovski

The president of Macedonia was killed as he flew to an economic conference in Bosnia.

Date:

February 26, 2004

Aircraft:

Beechcraft Super King Air 200

Cause of crash:

technical issues & pilot error

Boris Trajkovski was the second President of Macedonia (now renamed North Macedonia) from 1999 until his death in 2004. The plane crash occurred in Stolac, Bosnia and killed the North Macedonian along with eight others. At the time, Trajkovski was traveling to an economic conference in Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

A Beechcraft B200 Super King Air on an airport apron.

Photo: Ryan Fletcher | Shutterstock

The crash took place in thick fog and heavy rain and the aircraft broke into three pieces upon impact on a mountainside. Search and rescue efforts were hampered by the fact that the area was heavily mined from the Bosnian War (there were no survivors). The cause of the crash was technical problems and procedural errors by the pilots.

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