Iran’s Ebrahim Raisi To Sanjay Gandhi: A Look At Politicians Killed In Air Crashes

Ultraconservative Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was killed on Sunday, along with his foreign minister, in a helicopter crash in Iran’s remote northwest.

The loss of two of Iran’s most influential political figures comes as the country buckles under significant economic and political strain, with tensions with nearby Israel at a dangerous high.

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Drone footage of the helicopter wreckage taken by the Red Crescent and carried on Iranian state media showed the crash site on a steep, wooded hillside, with little remaining of the helicopter beyond a blue and white tail.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei – the final arbiter of domestic and foreign affairs in the country – announced five days of public mourning and confirmed that Iran’s First Vice President, Mohammad Mokhber, is now managing the executive branch.

A look at other politicians across the world who died in a plane or chopper crash:

1. Sebastian Pinera, two-term President of Chile: Pimera died as his helicopter crashed into a lake in southern Chile, on February 6, 2024.
2. Lech Kaczyński, President of Poland: On April 10, 2010, A Tupolev Tu-154M plane was carrying Kaczyński crashed while approaching Smolensk Air Base in Russia.
3. Dorjee Khandu, CM of Arunachal Pradesh, India: Khandu died in a helicopter crash on April 30, 2011 in Luguthang near the China border.
4. Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, CM of Andhra Pradesh, India: Reddy died as his Bell 430 helicopter crashed in the Nallamalla forest on September 3, 2009.
5. O P Jindal and Surendra Singh, Indian Politicians and Haryana cabinet ministers: The chopper carrying the duo developed a technical snag and crashed near Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh on March 31, 2005.
6. G M C Balayogi, Indian politician and TDP leader: Balayogi died as his Bell 206 crashed on March 3, 2002 owing to poor visibility
7. Madhavrao Scindia, Indian politician and Congress leader: Scindia’s private Beechcraft King Air C90 caught fire mid-air, causing a crash at Mainpuri, Uttar Pradesh, on September 30, 2001.
8. Juvenal Habyarimana, President of Rwanda, and Cyprien Ntaryamira, President of Burundi: The duo died on April 6, 1994, as their plane was shot down when it was about to land in Kigali, Rwanda.
9. Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, sixth President of Pakistan: On August 17, 1988, Haq’s C-130 Hercules aircraft crashed after takeoff from Bahawalpur.
10. Rashid Karami, Prime Minister of Lebanon: On June 1, 1987, a bomb exploded in Karami’s helicopter en route to Beirut, killing him.
11. Samora Machel, Mozambique President: Machel was killed in a plane crash on the border with South Africa on October 19, 1986.
12. Sanjay Gandhi, Indian politician and Congress leader: Sanjay, son of former prime minister Indira Gandhi, died, as he lost control of his aircraft at Delhi’s Safdarjung airport on June 23, 1980.
13. Mohan Kumaramangalam, Indian politician and Congress leader: Kumaramangalam died in an Indian Airlines crash near New Delhi in 1973.
14. Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco, 26th President of Brazil: On July 18, 1967, Branco’s Piper PA-23 Aztec collided mid-air with a Brazilian Air Force Lockheed T-33, causing his death.
15. Abdul Salam Arif, Second President of Iraq: On April 13, 1966, Arif’s Iraqi Air Force plane — de Havilland DH.104 Dove — crashed near Basra.
16. Nereu Ramos, Interim President of Brazil: On June 16, 1958, Ramos’s Cruzeiro do Sul airliner crashed near Curitiba Afonso Pena International Airport in Parana.
17. Ramon Magsaysay, Seventh President of the Philippines: On March 17, 1957, Magsaysay’s plane, a C-47, crashed in Mount Manunggal area in the Cebu.
18. Salomon Arvid Achates Lindman, two-time PM of Sweden: On December 9, 1936, Lindman died as his Douglas DC-2 crashed into houses near Croydon Airport in the United Kingdom, shortly after takeoff in thick fog.

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