Heads of state and prominent political figures mysteriously died in Plane crashes

When a plane or helicopter crashes with the president or a famous politician, it always causes a huge resonance worldwide. And skeptics also have suspicions: isn’t this a conspiracy or a terrorist attack? And even when the results of investigations indicate a mistake, crew, or technical malfunction, the doubts of those who believe in the conspiracy theory do not disappear. We will talk about the most high-profile and discussed plane crashes, the victims of which were prominent political figures.

8 heads of state and prominent political figures mysteriously died in Plane crashes

1. Rene Barentos Ortuno

Rene Barentos Ortuno, a well–known military politician who played a key role in the 1952 Bolivian revolution, became president after a military rebellion and was in power for five years until his death. During Barentos’ reign in Bolivia, many egregious facts were recorded regarding his crackdown on the objectionable.

On April 27, 1969, the helicopter carrying the President of Bolivia crashed. Although the official version was a technical malfunction, in those years, there was active talk that the aircraft had been shot down from the ground.

2. Lin Biao

Lin Biao was an associate of Chinese leader Mao Zedong, actively supported the cult of the personality of the Great Helmsman, was the Minister of Defense of the People’s Republic of China, and demanded that every soldier carry a collection of Mao’s quotations with him. At the 1966 plenum, Bo was second only to the leader on the Standing Committee of the Chinese Politburo list. At the 1969 congress, he was appointed Mao Zedong’s official deputy and named his successor.

After the Chinese politician’s death, an active campaign was launched against him in China, and the manual “Criticism of Lin Biao and Confucius” was published. For the entire second half of the last century, he was consigned to oblivion, and even during the rehabilitation of citizens unjustly convicted under Mao, Lin Biao was not rehabilitated. Only in the 21st century was he remembered, and books and articles with his biography began to be published.

3. Jaime Roldos Aguilera

In May 1981, the President of Ecuador, Jaime Roldos Aguilera, died. Throughout his political career, he actively fought against human rights violations, and this was against the background of the fact that most Latin American countries were ruled by a military dictatorship at that time.

Aguilera reduced the working week in the country to 40 hours, doubled the minimum wage, and issued several other important decrees for the people. At the same time, the United States did not like his policy – he was uncomfortable because Agelira would become very close to the USSR.

On May 24, 1981, the President of Ecuador flew to one of the official events. Visit. A F R I N I K . C O M . For the full article. The plane carrying him and his wife, as well as the Minister of Defense and his wife and other members of the country’s military elite, crashed into a mountain.

4. Omar Torrijos

In the same year, but two months later, another politician crashed during an air flight. Omar Torrijos was Panama’s Supreme Commander and de facto leader from 1968 to 1981. In October 1968, having enlisted the military’s support and led a group of officers of the National Guard of Panama, he carried out a coup d’etat—a bloodless one at that.

After 10 years in power, Torrijos voluntarily resigned but remained commander of the National Guard and significantly influenced key decision-making in the country, advising the new government. During his lifetime, he said more than once that someone who has been fighting against social injustice all his life is unlikely to die a natural death and that he is well aware that he is likely to be killed. And so it turned out: the plane on which Torrijos was flying, four more passengers, and two pilots crashed.

The official investigation data stated that the pilots made a mistake in causing the crash. Still, it was suspicious that the documents, in this case, mysteriously disappeared during the US invasion of Panama. When the trial of Panamanian leader Noriega was subsequently held, the United States opposed the disclosure of information about the disaster to his predecessor (they say this is classified information). Torrijos’ brother openly stated that the disaster was the work of the CIA.

5. Samantha Smith

American schoolgirl Samantha Smith, who was declared a goodwill ambassador during the Cold War between the USSR and the USA, was known worldwide. Her political influence, despite her young age, was enormous. She advocated for peace between the two major powers and nuclear disarmament and met with Soviet leader Andropov, who invited her to the Soviet Union. Samantha became a living symbol of peace, but some called her a victim of Soviet propaganda and a Communist.

On August 25, 1985, a schoolgirl was returning home on a small plane after filming an English TV series. The crash killed 13-year-old Samantha, her father, and several other passengers. The official version was called the pilot’s error. Still, not everyone believed in it because there were enough people to whom the violent anti-war activities of the young American woman were unprofitable.

6. Samora Machel

The President of Mozambique, revolutionary and military leader Samora Machel, came to power in 1975. He immediately carried out a large-scale nationalization and began actively encouraging the departure of European settlers from the country. Machel provided military assistance to guerrillas from other African countries fighting apartheid in South Africa.

The year 1986, which was fatal for the ruler, was challenging – the country had a civil war. On October 19, Machel and several ministers were returning to the Tu-134 from an international conference held in Zambia. An experienced Soviet crew operated the aircraft. A plane crashed on the border with Mozambique, killing all passengers.

The exact cause of the crash has not yet been determined. One version considered was the involvement of the South African special services in the emergency, which installed a false radio beacon, turned off the real one, and knocked the plane carrying the president off course.

7. Zia-ul-Haq Mohammad

The President of Pakistan, the Minister of Defense, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs in one person, General Zia-ul-Haq Mohammad, came to power, overthrowing and executing the country’s leader, Bzuttoe. The new ruler abolished parliamentary elections, abolished the constitution, and established a dictatorship. Mohammad set the course for the radical Islamization of the country and introduced into the legislation several traditional Islamic punishments for crimes.

During the war in Afghanistan, the leader of Pakistan sided with the United States and helped the American army (including providing its territories for camps where Soviet prisoners were held). In the USSR, Mohammad was perceived as an unfriendly president, although he met Gromyko and Andropov during a trip to Brezhnev’s funeral in Moscow.

On August 17, 1988, Zia-ul-Haq flew to one of the training grounds where the American Abrams tank demonstration tests were to take place. The plane, which was carrying several officers, suddenly lost altitude and crashed. About four dozen people on board were killed.

As a result of the investigation, it was established that there were explosives on the plane. A version with poisonous gas, which could have poisoned the pilots, was also not ruled out. Pakistani intelligence agencies openly blamed the Soviet Union and the KGB for the death of the president. In the USSR, these accusations were ignored.

8. Lech Kaczynski

In the 21st century, in addition to the recent plane crash, among the passengers of which was the head of the Wagner Private military company, Evgeny Prigozhin, another high–profile aviation accident caused a great resonance – the death of a well-known European politician, the head of Poland, Lech Kaczynski.

The plane with the president, his wife, and several Polish politicians on board crashed on April 10, 2010, during a flight to Russia for events dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre. The plane crashed in the Smolensk region during landing in bad weather conditions, crashing into trees. The results of the initial investigation revealed the guilt of the crew, but then they were criticized.