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
PhotoNameTitleDatePlaceCountryTypeAircraft modelJosé Félix Estigarribia Insaurralde President of Paraguay7 September 1940AltosAirplane accidentPotez 25Duy Tân former Emperor of Đại Nam under French protectorate of Annam and Tonkin26 December 1945Lobaye, Ubangi-ShariAirplane accidentRamon Magsaysay President of the Philippines17 March 1957Balamban, CebuAirplane accidentDouglas C-47 SkytrainNereu de Oliveira Ramos former President of Brazil16 June 1958São José dos PinhaisAirplane accidentConvair CV-440 MetropolitanAbdul Salam Arif President of Iraq 13 April 1966BaghdadAirplane accidentde Havilland Dove Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco former President of Brazil18 July 1967FortalezaAirplane accidentPiper PA-23René Barrientos Ortuño President of Bolivia27 April 1969ArqueHelicopter accidentHiller OH-23Ahmed Ould Bouceif Leader of the Military Junta of Mauritania27 May 1979DakarAirplane accidentde Havilland Canada DHC-4 CaribouJaime Roldós Aguilera President of Ecuador24 May 1981HuairapungoAirplane accidentBeechcraft Super King AirOmar Efraín Torrijos Herrera Military Leader of Panama31 July 1981PenonoméAirplane accidentDe Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin OtterSamora Moisés Machel President of Mozambique19 October 1986 MbuziniAirplane accident Tupolev Tu-134Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq President of Pakistan17 August 1988BahawalpurAirplane accident Lockheed C-130 HerculesJuvénal Habyarimana President of Rwanda6 April 1994KigaliAirplane shootdownDassault Falcon 50Cyprien Ntaryamira President of BurundiBoris Trajkovski President of North Macedonia26 February 2004Mostar Airplane accidentBeechcraft Super King AirMuhammadu MaccidoSultan of Sokoto State29 October 2006AbujaAirplane accidentBoeing 737Lech Kaczyński President of Poland10 April 2010SmolenskAirplane accidentTupolev Tu-154Ryszard Kaczorowski Last President of the Polish government-in-exile10 April 2010SmolenskAirplane accidentTupolev Tu-154Sebastián Piñera Echenique former President of Chile6 February 2024Lake RancoHelicopter accidentRobinson R44
Heads of government
PhotoNameTitleDatePlaceCountryTypeAircraft modelArvid Lindman former Prime Minister of Sweden9 December 1936Croydon, SurreyAirplane accidentDouglas DC-2Władysław Sikorski Prime Minister of Poland (in exile)4 July 1943 GibraltarAirplane accident Consolidated B-24 LiberatorBarthélemy Boganda Prime Minister of the Central African Republic29 March 1959 BoukpayangaAirplane accident Nord NoratlasJoël RakotomalalaSud Aviation SE 3160 Accidents of Alouette III, by ASN Aviation Safety Database (consulted 11 May 2022). Prime Minister of Madagascar30 July 1976AntsirabeHelicopter accidentAérospatiale Alouette IIIDžemal Bijedić Prime Minister of Yugoslavia18 January 1977Kreševo Airplane accidentLearjet 25Francisco de Sá Carneiro Prime Minister of Portugal4 December 1980CamarateAirplane accident Cessna 421Rashid Karami Prime Minister of Lebanon1 June 1987BeirutHelicopter bombingAérospatiale SA 330 PumaAbdul Rahim Ghafoorzai Prime minister of Afghan Northern Alliance21 August 1997Bamyan Airplane accidentAntonov An-32Ebrahim Raisi President of Iran19 May 2024VarzaqanHelicopter accidentBell 212
International organizations
ImageName TitleDatePlaceCountryTypeAircraft modelDag Hammarskjöld Secretary-General of the United Nations18 September 1961Ndola Airplane accident Douglas DC-6
See also List of assassinated and executed heads of state and government
References