List of fatalities from aviation accidents

Many notable human fatalities have resulted from aviation accidents and incidents.

Aviators who died prior to 1912

Those killed as part of a sporting, political, or musical group who flew together when the accident took place are usually only listed under the group sections; however, some are also listed as individuals.

Name	Nationality	Year	Description of members	Flight/aircraft	Location	Cause/circumstances
Aaliyah	United States	2001	Singer Aaliyah and members of her entourage	Cessna 402	Marsh Harbour Airport, Abaco Islands, The Bahamas	Aircraft was overloaded and the pilot lacked proper qualifications to fly it; see 2001 Marsh Harbour Cessna 402 crash
Alexandrov Ensemble	Russia	2016	Artistic director Valery Khalilov and 63 choir members	Tupolev Tu-154B-2	Black Sea near Sochi, Russia	Spatial disorientation; see 2016 Russian Defence Ministry Tupolev Tu-154 crash
The Blackwood Brothers	United States	1954	Baritone singer and pilot R.W. Blackwood and bass singer Bill Lyles	Beechcraft Model 18	Clanton, Alabama, United States	Aircraft stalled during attempted landing
China National Opera (Beijing)	China	1956	Ten members	Ilyushin Il-12	Eglisau, Switzerland	ČSA Flight 548
Jim Croce	United States	1973	Others killed in the crash were pilot Robert N. Elliott, Croce's bandmate Maury Muehleisen, comedian George Stevens, manager and booking agent Kenneth D. Cortese, and road manager Dennis Rast.	Beechcraft E18S	Natchitoches, Louisiana	Pilot's failure to see the obstruction due to physical impairment and because fog reduced his vision.
Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, J. P. Richardson	United States	1959	All three tourmates were killed, along with pilot Roger Peterson	Beechcraft Bonanza	Clear Lake, Iowa, United States	Controlled flight into terrain; see The Day the Music Died
Bar-Kays, Otis Redding	United States	1967	Four of six Bar-Kays members died: Ronnie Caldwell, Phalon Jones, Jimmy King and Carl Cunningham. Ben Cauley survived the crash and James Alexander was not on the plane. Also on board and killed was soul singer Otis Redding.	Beechcraft Model 18	Lake Monona, Madison, Wisconsin, United States	Cause undetermined
Chase	United States	1974	Four of eight band members were killed (Bill Chase, Walter Clark, John Emma and Wally Yohn)	Piper Twin Comanche	Jackson, Minnesota, United States	Controlled flight into terrain during landing descent^[140]
Glenn Miller	United States	1944	Miller and all occupants of the transport plane.	Noorduyn Norseman	English Channel	disappeared, body never recovered, presumed dead
Keith Green	United States	1982	Green was killed along with 10 other passengers - including 2 of his children - and the pilot.	Cessna 414	Garden Valley, Texas; United States	Plane was determined to be dangerously overloaded; contributing to the crash shortly after takeoff.^[141]
Lynyrd Skynyrd	United States	1977	Lead vocalist Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, and back-up singer Cassie Gaines	1977 Convair 240 crash^[142]	Northeast of Gillsburg, Mississippi, United States	Fuel exhaustion
Reba McEntire's band	United States	1991	Guitarist Chris Austin, backup singer Paula Kaye Evans, bassist Terry Jackson, bandleader Kirk Cappello, guitarist Michael Thomas, drummer Tony Saputo, and keyboardist Joey Cigainero	British Aerospace BAe 125	San Diego, California, United States	Pilot's failure to maintain proper altitude and clearance over mountainous terrain, and the copilot's failure to adequately monitor the progress of the flight^[143]
Mamonas Assassinas	Brazil	1996	All five members were killed.	Learjet 25	Cantareira mountain range, Brazil	Controlled flight into terrain
The Nelons	United States	2024	3 of the 4 members (Kelly Nelon Clark, her husband Jason Clark and their daughter Amber Nelon Kistler) were killed along with 3 other passengers and the pilot. Another daughter, Autumn Nelon Streetman, was not on board.	Pilatus PC-12	North of Gillette, Wyoming; United States	Under investigation; more in 2024 Gillette Pilatus PC-12 crash
Passion Fruit	Germany	2001	Two of the Eurodance trio died: Maria Serrano Serrano and Nathalie van het Ende. Debby St. Maarten survived the crash. Former lead singer of La Bouche, Melanie Thornton was also killed in this crash.	Crossair Flight 3597	Bassersdorf, Switzerland	Controlled flight into terrain; crashed in hills short of runway during landing approach
Stevie Ray Vaughan	United States	1990	All five people - Vaughan, the pilot, and three members of Eric Clapton's entourage - died in the crash.	Helicopter	Near East Troy, Wisconsin; United States	The helicopter crashed into a hill due to low visibility conditions according to the NTSB.

Name	Nationality	Year	Description of members	Flight/aircraft	Location	Cause/circumstances
Australian Government	Australia	1940	10 fatalities, including cabinet ministers Geoffrey Street, James Fairbairn and Henry Gullett, and senior army officer Brudenell White	Lockheed Hudson	Canberra, Australia	1940 Canberra air disaster
Philippine Government	Philippines	1957	25 fatalities, including President Ramon Magsaysay, Education Secretary Gregorio Hernandez Jr., Senator Tomas Cabili, Congressman Pedro Lopez and Philippine Air Force Commanding General Benito Ebuen	Douglas C-47 Skytrain	Balamban, Philippines	1957 Cebu Douglas C-47 crash
Participants of the 60th National Defence Course	Finland	1978	15 fatalities, including 4 Members of the Parliament, 3 executives of governmental agencies, 3 business executives and 2 military commanders. The future Finnish president Tarja Halonen was not on the flight because she was expecting her baby, and doctor had prohibited her to enter the aircraft (she took a train instead).	Douglas DC-3	Rissala, Finland	1978 Finnish Air Force DC-3 crash
Pakistan–United States delegation	Pakistan	1988	30 fatalities, including President Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Akhtar Abdur Rahman, United States Ambassador to Pakistan Arnold Lewis Raphel, US Brigadier General Herbert M. Wassom, and a group of senior Pakistani army officers.	Lockheed C-130B Hercules	Bahawalpur, Pakistan	1988 Pakistan Air Force C-130B crash
Polish official delegation to the Katyn war cemetery	Poland	2010	President Lech Kaczyński; First Lady Maria Kaczyńska; Former president of the Republic of Poland in exile Ryszard Kaczorowski; Senator Janina Fetlińska; Stanisław Komorowski; Andrzej Kremer, Tomasz Merta and others^[144]	Tupolev Tu-154M	Smolensk North Airport, Smolensk	Smolensk air disaster

Name	Nationality	Year	Team members killed	Flight/aircraft	Location	Cause/circumstances
Alianza Lima	Peru	1987	42 fatalities, including 16 players, coach Marcos Calderón, staff, cheerleaders, and crewmembers, with the exception of one survivor (the plane pilot)	Fokker F27-400M	Pacific Ocean, six miles from Ventanilla, Callao, Peru	Malfunctioning indicator, see 1987 Alianza Lima plane crash
Apex Motorsports	United Kingdom	2008	Three people total: team manager Richard Lloyd, driver David Leslie and a data engineer.	Cessna Citation 501	Farnborough, London	2008 Biggin Hill Cessna Citation crash
Associação Chapecoense de Futebol	Brazil	2016	71 people died in the crash, including 19 Chapecoense footballers and their coach, many staff members, officials and journalists. It is the deadliest accident in South America involving a sports team.	LaMia Flight 2933	Medellín, Colombia	LaMia Flight 2933
TJ Baník Chomutov ZJF	Czechoslovakia	1956	23 people died in the crash, six associated with this ice hockey team: three players (including Miroslav Pašek and Zdeněk Nový), two top club officials and a reporter	ČSA Flight 548	Eglisau, Switzerland	see: ČSA Flight 548
Bulgarian rhythmic gymnastics team; Polish track cycling team	Bulgaria	1978	5 Bulgarian gymnasts with coach; 5 Polish cyclists	Tupolev Tu-134		Balkan Bulgarian Airlines Flight 107
Bury St Edmunds Rugby Club	United Kingdom	1974	346 fatalities, including 18 members of rugby team	Turkish Airlines Flight 981 – McDonnell Douglas DC-10	Ermenonville Forest, France	Sudden decompression and severed controls after a cargo door failed.^[145]
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo	United States	1960	16 members of the college American football team and six others	Curtiss C-46 Commando	Toledo Express Airport	California Polytechnic State University football team plane crash
Canadian football Western All-Stars team	Canada	1956	Saskatchewan Roughriders players Mel Becket, Mario DeMarco, Gordon Sturtridge and Ray Syrnyk; Winnipeg Blue Bombers player Cal Jones	Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 810-9	Mount Slesse, British Columbia	Crashed into mountain, cause undetermined; engine failure and bad weather were possible factors^[146]
Colourful 11 football team	Netherlands Suriname	1989	14 players and their coach	Surinam Airways Flight 764	Zanderij airport	Controlled flight into terrain due to pilot error
Cuban national fencing team	Cuba	1976	All 24 members of the team, trainers and the coach	Cubana de Aviación Flight 455	Payne's Bay, Barbados	Bombing
Embassy Hill	UK	1975	six people total, including former F1 world champion Graham Hill, driver Tony Brise, team manager Ray Brimble, two mechanics and designer Andy Smallman.	Piper Aztec	Arkley, London, England, UK	crashed on golf course while attempting to land at nearby Elstree Airfield in fog
University of Evansville basketball team	United States	1977	29 players, staff and fans	Douglas DC-3	Evansville Regional Airport, Evansville, Indiana^[147]	Air Indiana Flight 216
Hendrick Motorsports	United States	2004	10 people associated with the team, including family, team crew, and pilots	Beechcraft Super King Air 200^[148]	Stuart, Virginia, USA	2004 Hendrick Motorsports aircraft crash
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl	Russia	2011	26 players and 3 coaches	Yakovlev Yak-42	Near Yaroslavl, Russia	Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash
Manchester United	United Kingdom	1958	23 people total; including eight footballers: Geoff Bent, Roger Byrne, Eddie Colman, Duncan Edwards, Mark Jones, David Pegg, Tommy Taylor, and Billy Whelan; coach Bert Whalley, trainer Tom Curry, and club secretary Walter Crickmer. Also Frank Swift, a former player.	Airspeed Ambassador	Munich-Riem Airport	Munich air disaster
Marshall University football team	United States	1970	37 team members, five coaches, seven staff members, and 21 boosters	Southern Airways Flight 932
Oklahoma State University	United States	2001	Ten people associated with men's basketball team (including two players)	Beechcraft Super King Air		Oklahoma State Cowboys basketball team plane crash
Old Christians Club rugby team	Uruguay	1972	11 players and the team physician; basis for 1974 book Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors; survivors resorted to cannibalism	Fairchild FH-227	Andes	Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571
FC Pakhtakor Tashkent	Soviet Union	1979	17 players	Tupolev Tu-134	In the air above Dniprodzerzhynsk	1979 Dniprodzerzhynsk mid-air collision
Palmas Futebol e Regatas	Brazil	2021	Team owner Lucas Meira; four footballers: Marcus Molinari, Guilherme Noé, Lucas Praxedes, and Ranule; and the pilot	Beechcraft Baron	Porto Nacional, Tocantins	2021 Palmas FR plane crash
Puerto Rico women's national volleyball team	Puerto Rico	1970	Most members of the team	Dominicana de Aviación McDonnell Douglas DC-9		1970 Dominicana de Aviación DC-9 crash
A.C. Torino	Italy	1949	18 players, club officials, and journalists			Superga air disaster
USA Boxing team	United States	1980	14 boxers and 8 staff members	LOT Polish Airlines Flight 007
USAC officials	United States	1978	8 lead officials	Piper Navajo
U.S. Figure Skating team	United States	1961	all 18 skaters, coaches, and judges	Sabena Flight 548	Brussels, Belgium	Possible failure of flight controls
Wichita State University football team	United States	1970	14 players, plus head coach and 16 others	Martin 4-0-4	Silver Plume, Colorado	Wichita State University football team plane crash
Zambia national football team	Zambia	1993	All 18 footballers, including Efford Chabala and Wisdom Mumba Chansa	de Havilland Canada DHC-5 Buffalo	Libreville, Gabon	Gabon air disaster

List of fatalities from aviation accidents

Individuals

Musical groups or artists

Political groups

Sporting teams

References

Further reading

External links

Wikiwand - on

Name	Nationality	Year	Notability	Flight/aircraft	Crash site	Cause/circumstances
Aaliyah	United States	2001	Actress, singer, and model	Cessna 402	Marsh Harbour, Abaco Islands, The Bahamas	Maximum takeoff weight of airplane substantially exceeded, pilot under the influence of cocaine and alcohol.^[1]
Michael J. Adams	United States	1967	Test pilot	X-15 Flight 3-65-97	Randsburg, California, United States	Breakup caused by malfunctioning control system^[2]
Adolf II, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe	Germany	1936	Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe	Ford Trimotor	Zumpango, Mexico	^[3]
Yahaya Ahmad	Malaysia	1997	Entrepreneur, founder of DRB-HICOM	Agusta A109P	Kuala Lipis, Pahang, Malaysia	Mid-air explosion
Sir John Alcock	United Kingdom	1919	Aviator who flew the first non-stop flight across the Atlantic	Vickers Viking	Cottévrard, near Rouen, France	Plane stalled and crashed in fog
Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco	Brazil	1967	Former President of Brazil	Piper Aztec	Fortaleza, Brazil	In mid-air collision with a Brazilian Air Force Lockheed T-33
Davey Allison	United States	1993	NASCAR driver	Hughes 369	Talladega, Alabama, United States	Pilot error^[4]
Modi Alon	Israel	1948	Military, first IAF pilot to command a combat squadron and to score an aerial victory	Avia S-199	Herzliya, Israel	Struck terrain nose-down after apparent engine trouble during a gear-up landing attempt
Hans Alsér	Sweden	1977	Table tennis player	Linjeflyg Flight 618	Kälvesta, Sweden	Icing of tailplane caused by engines being operated at too low a power setting for anti-ice to be effective
Roald Amundsen	Norway	1928	Explorer	Latham 47	Barents Sea	Disappearance
An Chang-nam	Korea	1930	Aviator		Taiyuan, China	^[5]
Maxie Anderson	United States	1983	Record-setting hot-air balloonist	Hot-air balloon	Near Bad Brückenau, West Germany	Gondola release mechanism malfunction
Scott D. Anderson	United States	1999	Minnesota Air National Guard test pilot	Cirrus SR20	Federal Prison Camp, Duluth	Aileron jam during early production flight testing^[6]
Elsa Andersson	Sweden	1922	Aviator, parachutist	Parachute	Askersund, Sweden	Parachute failure
Juan Marcos Angelini	Argentina	2018	Racing driver, Turismo Carretera	Pitts Special	Carreras, Santa Fe Province, Argentina	^[7]
David Angell	United States	2001	Producer	American Airlines Flight 11	World Trade Center North Tower, New York City	9/11 hijacking by Mohamed Atta
Toivo Antikainen	Finland	1941	Communist leader, military officer		Arkhangelsk, Soviet Union	Was allegedly killed in a plane crash, but some claim he died in Moscow under suspicious circumstances.
Steve Appleton	United States	2012	CEO of Micron at time of incident	Lancair IV-P	Boise Airport, Idaho, United States	Error during emergency landing
Allen Bathurst, Lord Apsley	United Kingdom	1942	Army Officer and Member of Parliament	Handley Page Halifax	Luqa, Malta	Crashed on takeoff
Mel Apt	United States	1956	Test pilot	Bell X-2	Edwards AFB, California, United States	Pilot error
Abdul Salam Arif	Iraq	1966	President of Iraq	de Havilland Dove 1	Southern Iraq	Crashed in a sand storm
Florence Arthaud	France	2015	Sailor	Eurocopter AS350	Villa Castelli, Argentina	Collided in mid-air; see 2015 Villa Castelli mid-air collision
Garnet "Ace" Bailey	Canada	2001	Ice hockey player (NHL)	United Airlines Flight 175	World Trade Center South Tower, New York City	9/11 hijacking by Marwan al-Shehhi
Valentine Baker	United Kingdom	1942	World War I flying ace	Martin-Baker MB 3	RAF Wing, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom	Engine failure
Daniel Balavoine	France	1986	Singer and songwriter	Aérospatiale AS350 Ecureuil^[8]	Gourma-Rharous, Mali	Controlled flight into terrain during a sandstorm, with Thierry Sabine when crashed
G. M. C. Balayogi	India	2002	Politician	Bell 206	Kaikalur, India	Mechanical failure, pilot error
Italo Balbo	Italy	1940	Governor-General of Italian Libya	Savoia-Marchetti SM.79	Tobruk, Italian North Africa	Shot down by friendly fire, Italian anti-aircraft batteries defending the airfield misidentified the aircraft as British
Frederick Banting	Canada	1941	Scientist, co-discovered insulin	Lockheed Hudson	Musgrave Harbour, Newfoundland, Canada	Engine problems
Heinrich Bär	West Germany	1957	Test pilot	LF-1 Zaunkönig	Braunschweig, West Germany	Lost control of aircraft
Silvio Barbato	Italy	2009	Conductor and composer	Air France Flight 447	Atlantic Ocean	Pilot error
Bill Barilko	Canada	1951	Ice hockey player (NHL)	Fairchild 24	100 km N of Cochrane, Ontario, Canada	Pilot inexperience, poor weather, overloaded cargo
Stephen Barnes	United States	2020	Personal injury attorney	TBM 700	Pembroke, New York	Unknown^[9]^[10]
René Barrientos	Bolivia	1969	President of Bolivia	Hiller UH-12^[11]	Arque, Cochabamba Department, Bolivia	Rotors caught on power lines^[12]
Charles Bassett	United States	1966	Astronaut	Northrop T-38 Talon^[12]	St. Louis, Missouri, United States	With Elliot See; 1966 NASA T-38 crash
Tomáš Baťa	Czechoslovakia	1932	Founder of Bata Shoes company	Junkers F.13	Otrokovice, Czechoslovakia	Poor weather
Mark Bavis	United States	2001	Ice hockey player (AHL)	United Airlines Flight 175	World Trade Center South Tower, New York City	9/11 hijacking by Marwan al-Shehhi
Lincoln Beachey	United States	1915	Aviator, stunt flyer	Beachey-Eaton Monoplane^[13]	San Francisco, California, United States	Demonstrating inverted flight at the Panama–Pacific International Exposition. Structural failure while attempting to pull up.
Todd Beamer	United States	2001	Oracle Corporation employee	United Airlines Flight 93	Shanksville, Pennsylvania, United States	9/11 hijacking by Ziad Jarrah
William D. Becker	United States	1943	Politician, mayor of St. Louis	Waco CG-4A-RO	Lambert Field, St. Louis, Missouri, United States	Loss of right wing due to wing strut fitting failure during demonstration flight;^[14] Maj. William B. Robertson also dies in this accident^[15]
Nick Begich Sr.	United States	1972	US Congressman from Alaska	Cessna 310	Alaska, United States	Disappeared, body never recovered, presumed dead. Hale Boggs was also on this flight.