List of people who died in aviation-related incidents

This is a list of some well-known people who have died in aviation-related events. This list does not include victims of disasters who were not famous beyond their involvement in the accident, nor casualties of war.

This list is sectioned by occupation. For a list of aviation-related deaths by type of aircraft see a separate list of deaths by aircraft misadventure.

The year after the names of persons is the year of the aviation-related death. Within each section, people are listed in alphabetical order.

Aviation

• Milo Burcham, 1944, Lockheed test pilot
• Richard Bong, 1945, US World War II fighter ace
• Jorge Chávez, Peruvian pilot
• Juan de la Cierva, inventor of the autogyro, on a fixed-wing plane
• Bessie Coleman, first African-American woman pilot
• Arthur Coningham RAF Air Marshal who disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle
• Scott Crossfield, test pilot
• Steponas Darius and Stasys Girenas, Lithuanian-American pilots
• Jessica Dubroff, 1996, 7-year-old aspiring pilot
• Amelia Earhart, 1937, pioneer woman pilot
• Glen Edwards, test pilot, namesake of Edwards AFB
• Richard E. Ellsworth, 1953, US Air Force Brigadier General
• Eugene Ely, 1911, pioneer pilot in US naval aviation
• Yuri Gagarin, Russian cosmonaut
• Guy Gibson, World War II pilot
• Werner Mölders, World War II pilot
• Richard E. Gray, test pilot
• Mark Hanna, 1999, British stunt pilot
• Amy Johnson, British pilot
• Iven Carl Kincheloe, Jr., test pilot
• Otto Lilienthal, 1896, German glider pioneer
• Paul Mantz, 1965, racing and stunt pilot
• William A. Moffett, 1933, US Navy admiral, in crash of airship USS Akron
• Edward O'Hare, American World War II pilot
• Wiley Post, 1935, aviation pioneer
• Gary Powers, American spy-plane pilot
• Harriet Quimby, first licensed female pilot in the US
• Jack Ridley, test pilot
• Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, writer and pilot
• Art Scholl, 1986, aerobatic and stunt performer
• Frank Tallman, 1978, stuntman
• Space Shuttle Challenger, and Space Shuttle Columbia crews.
• Joseph A. Walker, test pilot

See also: List of space disasters

Business

• John Bauer, 1998, CEO of Dynaweld.
• Carl August Baron von Gablenz, CEO of Lufthansa.
• Daniel Lewin, 2001, Founder and CTO of Akamai.
• Alfred Lowenstein, 1928, Belgian entrepreneur and financier.
• Frank Pocher, 1997, CFO of ImmunoGen.
• Wes Vance, 2003, COO of Diebold.
• Frank Wells, 1994, President and COO of The Walt Disney Company.
• John Whitney, 1998, Founder of Gaymar.
• Matthew Harding, 1996, Vice-Chairman of Chelsea Football Club.
• Jack O'Harra, 1996, Executive Producer of ABC Sports, in TWA Flight 800

Entertainment

• Aaliyah, 2001, actress and singer
• Anna Jantar, 1980, Polish singer
• Audie Murphy, 1971, actor
• Berry Berenson, 2001, actress, photographer, and widow of actor Anthony Perkins; passenger aboard American Airlines Flight 11 on September 11, 2001.
• Bill Graham, 1991, rock impresario
• Bruce Geller, 1978, TV producer/creator, Mission: Impossible
• Buddy Clark, 1949, singer
• Buddy Holly, 1959, singer
• Carlos Gardel, 1935, Argentinian singer
• Carole Lombard, 1942, actress
• Cassie Gaines, 1977, musician, Lynyrd Skynyrd
• David Angell, 2001, TV producer, Cheers, Frasier ; passenger aboard American Airlines Flight 11 on September 11, 2001.
• Dean Paul Martin, 1987, actor, singer and son of Dean Martin
• Fanny Cano, 1983, Mexican actress, during collision of Iberia and Avianca jetliners, Barajas International Airport, Madrid
• Ginette Neveu, 1949, French classical violinist
• Glenn Miller, 1944, Big Band leader
• Grace Moore, 1947, opera singer
• Graham "Shirley" Strachan, 2001, singer, Skyhooks
• Guido Cantelli, 1956, orchestral conductor
• Jacques Thibaud, 1953, French classical violinist
• Jim Croce, 1973, singer
• Jim Reeves, 1964, country music singer
• John Denver, 1997, singer
• Jud Strunk, 1981, singer, songwriter, comedian
• Keith Green, 1982, contemporary Christian musician
• Kyu Sakamoto, 1985, Japanese singer, on board Japan Airlines Flight 123
• Larry Shue, 1985, playwright
• Leslie Howard, 1943, actor
• Mamonas Assassinas, 1996, Brazilian rock band
• Marcel Dadi, 1996, French musician on TWA Flight 800
• Melanie Thornton, 2001, singer
• Mike Todd, 1958, film producer
• Otis Redding, 1967, singer
• Pablo Santos, 2006, Mexican actor
• Patsy Cline, 1963, country music singer
• Pedro Infante, 1957, Mexican singer and actor
• Peter Tomarken, 2006, former game show host, Press Your Luck
• Philippa Schuyler, 1967, American, musician
• Randy Rhoads, 1982, Rock and classical guitarist
• Renny Ottolina, 1978, Venezuelan TV producer and entertainer
• Ricky Nelson, 1985, actor and singer
• Ritchie Valens, 1959, singer
• Ronnie VanZant, 1977, member of Lynyrd Skynyrd
• Stan Rogers, 1983, Canadian singer
• Steve Gaines, 1977, musician, Lynyrd Skynyrd
• Stevie Ray Vaughan, 1990, guitarist and singer
• The Big Bopper, (Jiles Perry [J.P.] Richardson, Jr.), 1959, singer
• Vic Morrow, 1982, actor
• Will Rogers, 1935, actor, humorist, singer
• William Gardner Knight, 1998, actor
• William Kapell, 1953, American classical pianist

Politicians

• A. P. Hamann, 1977, City Manager of San Jose, California, during the Tenerife disaster
• Abdul Rahim Ghafoorzai, 1997, prime minister of the anti-Taliban government of northern Afghanistan
• Abdul Salam Arif, 1966, President of Iraq
• Ahmed Ould Bouceif, 1979, Prime Minister of Mauritania
• Alexander Lebed, 2002, Russian politician, governor of Krasnoyarsk
• Amaro da Costa, 1980, Portugal
• Arvid Lindman, 1936, Prime Minister of Sweden
• Barthélemy Boganda, 1959, President of the Central African Republic
• Boris Trajkovski, 2004, President of Macedonia
• Bronson M. Cutting, 1935, US Senator from New Mexico
• Carlos Menem Jr., 1995, first son of former Argentine president Carlos Menem.
• Lord Thomson, 1930, British Secretary of State for Air, in the R101 disaster
• Cyprien Ntaryamira, 1994, President of Burundi
• Dag Hammarskjöld, 1961, Secretary-General of the United Nations
• de Lesseps Story Morrison, 1964, former Mayor of New Orleans
• Donald Nutter, 1962, Governor of Montana
• Džemal Bijedić, 1977, Premier of Yugoslavia
• Earl Snell, 1947, Governor of Oregon
• Edward Moss, 1964, aide of senator Ted Kennedy, who was also injured during accident
• Ernest Lundeen, US Senator from Minnesota
• Francisco Sá Carneiro, 1980, Prime Minister of Portugal
• Ganti Mohana Chandra Balayogi, 2002, 12th & 13th Speaker of the Lok Sabha, India
• George S. Mickelson, 1993, Governor of South Dakota
• George W. Collins, 1972
• Hale Boggs, 1972, US Congressman from Louisiana
• Igor Farkhutdinov, 2003, Russian politician, governor of Sakhalin
• Jaime Roldós Aguilera, 1981, President of Ecuador
• James Waltermire, 1988, Secretary of State of Montana
• Jerry Litton, 1976
• Jerry Pettis, 1975, Representative from California
• Joel Rakotomalala, 1976, Prime Minister of Madagascar
• John Garang, 2005, Vice President of Sudan
• John Heinz, 1991, US Senator from Pennsylvania
• John Kristensen Brostuen, 1938, member of the North Dakota Senate
• John Purroy Mitchell, 1918, former Mayor of New York City. First politician to die in an aviation-related accident.
• John Tower, 1991, former US Senator from Texas
• Juvénal Habyarimana, 1994, President of Rwanda
• Larry McDonald, U.S. Congressman, 1983, aboard Korean Air Flight KAL-007
• Leo Ryan, 1978, US Congressman from California, while attempting to flee Jim Jones' cult Peoples Temple at Jonestown, Guyana
• Madhavrao Scindia, 2001, Indian politician
• Maurice Connolly, 1921, former US Congressman from Iowa.
• Mel Carnahan, 2000, Governor of Missouri
• Mickey Leland, 1989
• Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, 1988, President of Pakistan
• Nick Begich, 1972, US Congressman from Alaska
• Omar Torrijos, 1981, Panamanian dictator
• Paul Wellstone, 2002, US Senator from Minnesota
• Ramón Magsaysay, 1957, president of the Philippines
• René Barrientos, 1969, President of Bolivia
• Ron Brown, 1996, US Secretary of Commerce with over 30 others in Croatia
• Samora Machel, 1986, President of Mozambique
• Sanjay Gandhi, 1980, son of Indira Gandhi
• Subhash Chandra Bose, 1945, leader of the Indian Congress
• Thaddeus C. Sweet, 1928, US Congressman from New York.
• William D. Byron, 1941, US Congressman from Maryland.
• William Kirk Kaynor, 1929, US Congressman from Massachusetts.
• Władysław Sikorski, 1943, Prime Minister of Poland

Royalty

• Prince George, Duke of Kent, 1942
• Prince Christopher of Hesse - 1943
• Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Westrobothnia, 1947
• Prince William of Gloucester, 1972

Sports

Individuals

• "Ace" Garnet Bailey, September 11th, 2001, NHL player (passenger on the second plane to hit the World Trade Center)
• Al Holbert, 1988, 24 Hours of Le Mans winner
• Alan Kulwicki, 1993, NASCAR driver
• Bill Barilko, 1951, NHL player
• Bill McAfee, 1958, MLB player
• Bo Rein, 1980, LSU Tigers football coach
• Brook Berringer, 1996, Nebraska Cornhuskers, college football quarterback
• Carlos Cruz, 1970, Dominican world boxing champion
• Carlos Pace, 1977, Formula One driver
• Charles Peete, 1956, MLB player
• Cory Lidle, 2006, MLB player
• Davey Allison, 1993, NASCAR driver (helicopter crash)
• Duncan Edwards, 1958, Manchester United English Soccer player
• Fred C. Miller, 1954, Milwaukee Brewers director
• Graham Hill, 1975, Formula One driver
• Hansie Cronje, 2002, South African cricket captain
• Harald Ertl, 1982, Motoring journalist and Formula One driver
• Irv Medlinger, 1975, MLB player
• Jim Harding, 1991, MLB player
• Ken Hubbs, 1964, MLB player
• Knute Rockne, 1931, Notre Dame Fighting Irish football coach
• Lucho DeCastro, 2006, Touring car driver
• Marcel Cerdan, 1949, French world boxing champion
• Néstor Chávez, 1969, Venezuelan MLB player
• Nick Vanos, (1987) NBA player, Phoenix Suns
• Nile Kinnick, 1943, American football player
• Payne Stewart, 1999, champion golfer
• Rafael Osuna, Mexican tennis player
• Roberto Clemente, 1972, Puerto Rican MLB player
• Rocky Marciano, 1969, former world boxing champion
• Ron Flockhart, 1962, 24 Hours of Le Mans winner
• Thurman Munson, 1979, MLB player
• Tom Gastall, 1956, MLB player
• Tony Bettenhausen, Jr, 2000, CART driver/owner
• Tony Brise, 1975, Formula One driver
• Tony Lema, 1966, champion golfer
• Wilbur Shaw, 1954, three-time Indianapolis 500 winner

Collective

• Cuban National Fence Team, 1976 all team, trainers and coach, terrorist attack, bomb exploded on a DC-8 of Cubana de Aviación, Barbados (see Cubana Flight 455)
• Cal Poly San Luis Obispo football players, 1960, 16 members of the team and six others
• Czechoslovak national ice hockey team members, 1949, 6 players, English Channel
• University of Evansville basketball team, 1977, 29 players, staff and fans
• Hendrick Motorsports NASCAR team, 2004, 10 people associated with the team, including family, team crew, and pilots
• Italian A.C. Torino football squad, 1949, almost the entire team (see Superga air disaster)
• Manchester United football club, 23 players, staff and associates, 1958 (see Munich air disaster)
• Marshall University football team, 1970, 35 players, eight coaches, and 25 boosters (see Southern Airlines Flight 932)
• Oklahoma State University, 2001, ten people associated with men's basketball team (including two players)
• Pakhtakor professional football club, 17 players, 1979, on air above Dniprodzerzhynsk.
• Puerto Rico national women's volleyball team, 1970, most members of the team (on the same flight as Carlos Cruz)
• Surinam professional football team, fourteen players of an ad hoc, at Zanderij airport, Paramaribo
• Uruguay's Stella Maris rugby team, 1972, 29 of 45 team members (see Andes flight disaster)
• USAC, eight series officials April 1978, returning from auto race in Trenton, New Jersey
• US Olympic boxing team, 1980, all team members except for Bobby Czyz, Marvis Frazier and Lee Roy Murphy
• US figure skating entire team, 1961, on Sabena Flight 548
• Orfeon Universitario,1976, the entire Choral Group of Venezuelan Central University, at Azores Island, Portugal
• Wichita State University, 1970, 31 players, coaches and supporters, at Colorado
• Zambia national football team members, 1993

Others

• Roald Amundsen, explorer
• Tomas Bata, founder of Bata Shoes company
• Gary Caradori, 1990, investigating Lawrence King and Franklin Community Credit Union
• Muhammad bin Laden, father of Osama bin Laden
• Salem bin Laden, half-brother of Osama bin Laden
• Teddy Ebersol, son of Dick Ebersol
• Mohamed Samir Ferrat, 1998, associate of Ron Brown[1][2]
• Herschell Friday, 1994, Clinton fundraiser
• Matthew Harding, 1996, vice-chairman of Chelsea Football Club
• Dorothy Hunt, 1972, wife of E. Howard Hunt
• Antonio Juarbe Poll, 1979, Puerto Rican businessman
• Joseph LaMotta, noted chef, son of Jake LaMotta
• Peter Mueller, camper at Culver Academies
• Alexander Onassis, son of Aristotle Onassis
• Lionel Poilâne, 2002, French baker and entrepreneur
• C. Victor Raiser II, 1992, Clinton fundraiser[3]
• Lance Reventlow, 1972, entrepreneur and racecar driver
• Quentin Roosevelt, son of Theodore Roosevelt
• Samantha Smith, young activist
• Robert Smithson, Earthworks artist
• Thanikaimoni, Indian Palynologist
• John T. Walton, son of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton
• Hugh Ward, 1964, PI working with Guy Bannister
• Charles Orde Wingate, 1944, soldier and founder of the Chindits

Kennedy family

• Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, 1999, wife of John F. Kennedy Jr.
• John F. Kennedy, Jr., 1999, son of John F. Kennedy
• Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., 1944, older brother of John F. Kennedy
• Kathleen Agnes Kennedy Cavendish, 1948, younger sister of John F. Kennedy
• Lauren Bessette, 1999, sister of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy and sister-in-law of John Jr. and Caroline Kennedy.
• George Skakel, Sr., 1955, father of Ethel Skakel Kennedy and father-in-law of Robert F. Kennedy
• Ann Brannack Skakel, 1955, mother of Ethel Skakel Kennedy and mother-in-law of Robert F. Kennedy
• George Skakel, Jr., 1966, older brother of Ethel Skakel Kennedy and brother-in-law of Robert F. Kennedy

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