People who died in plane crashes
Aviation accident victims, also including helicopter, hot air balloons and other forms of flying machines or devices.
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- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Producer
Michael deGruy was born on 29 December 1951 in Mobile, Alabama, USA. He was a cinematographer and producer, known for The Blue Planet (2001), National Geographic Explorer (1985) and Predators (2000). He was married to Mimi Armstrong DeGruy. He died on 4 February 2012 in Jaspers Brush, New South Wales, Australia.1951-2012 (60 years old)
Died in a helicopter crash near the town of Berry in New South Wales, Australia.
Other victims: Filmmaker Andrew Wight.- Producer
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Andrew Wight was an Australian underwater explorer and film maker. Andrew began his career in agricultural science and worked in scientific research. He was a respected scuba and cave diving instructor, commercial helicopter pilot and farmer. Australian Adventurer of the Year medal winner (Australian Geographic), Andrew initiated and led the record breaking Pannikin Plain Cave Diving Expedition into Australia's remote south-west in 1988. Andrew produced the award winning documentary of this expedition called Nullarbor Dreaming (1989). Andrew led expeditions to dive and explore some of the most remote and bizarre regions of the world including, Australia, Alaska, Mexico, Canada, Florida, Cuba, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caladonia, Fiji, New Zealand, Gaudaloupe Is, Bahamas, Dominiocan Republic, Belize, Dry Tortugas, Navassa Is, Costa Rica, Coccos Island, Galapagos Islands, Lord Howe Is, Titanic, Bismarck, Hydrothermal vents in The Atlantic and pacific. Andrew produced 40 documentary films. His company, Great Wight Productions, gained an international reputation for making award winning adventure television programs. His programs are screened in over 60 countries around the world. He also produced films directed by James Cameron. Andrew was the line producer for the 3D IMAX film Ghosts of the Abyss (2003), released by Walden Media and Disney. He was the producer for Expedition: Bismarck (2002), which was made for the Discovery channel. He produced another 3D IMAX film about hydrothermal vents called Aliens of the Deep (2005), released by Disney in January 2005.
Wight died in a helicopter crash in February 2012 at Jaspers Brush in New South Wales, Australia.1959-2012 (52 years old)
Died in a helicopter crash near the town of Berry in New South Wales, Australia.
Other victims: Filmmaker Mike deGruy.- Music Artist
- Actress
- Composer
Talented. Beautiful. Modest. These three words described R&B singer-turned-actress Aaliyah perfectly.
Aaliyah Dana Haughton was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Diane (Hankerson) and Michael Haughton. Her uncle was music manager Barry Hankerson and her brother is director Rashad Haughton. Aaliyah was raised in Detroit. She got her first major exposure appearing on the syndicated television series Star Search (1983), where she awed the audience with her amazing voice and talent, singing "My Funny Valentine", a song which her mother had sung years earlier. At age 11, she sang with Gladys Knight in a five-night stint in Las Vegas. Withdrawing from the celebrity scene for a few years, Aaliyah lived the life of a normal teenage girl, attending Detroit's Performing Arts High School, where she majored in dance. It was around this same time that Aaliyah met singer/composer R. Kelly. Kelly assisted Aaliyah with the production of her debut album "Age Ain't Nothing But A number", which scored several number hits, specifically "Back and Forth." The album's title was a brief reference to her short-lived marriage to R. Kelly (she was 15 years of age at the time, and he was in his 20s). Thir marriage was annulled due to her status as a minor.
During her senior year, Aaliyah went on to record "One In A Million", which featured the songwriting talents of major R&B producers/writers Missy Elliott and Timbaland. The album was a major success and sealed Aaliyah's fame forever.
Aaliyah recorded the single 'Journey to the past' for the Anastasia (1997) soundtrack. After seeing her at an awards show and in the video for her hit song "Are You that Somebody?" (from the Eddie Murphy film Doctor Dolittle (1998)), film producer Joel Silver (producer of The Matrix (1999) and other major actor films) asked Aaliyah to audition for a role in an romance/action film, Romeo Must Die (2000). With her determination and sex appeal, Aaliyah won Silver over and was cast in her first major film role. Romeo Must Die (2000) was a hit at the box office. This film led to her being cast as one of the stars of the film based on Anne Rice's Queen of the Damned (2002), and in the two sequels to the major box office hit, The Matrix (1999), The Matrix Reloaded (2003) and The Matrix Revolutions (2003).
During the busy schedule of her film career, Aaliyah took time to record her third album, the self-titled "Aaliyah". July 2001 was a busy time for Aaliyah. After the success of her song "Try Again", for which she was nominated for a Grammy Award and won several MTV Video Awards, Aaliyah finally released her "Aaliyah" album. Debuting at number two on the Billboard charts, "Aaliyah" was a sales success, despite some lackluster reviews.
In August 2001, Aaliyah took time off from her busy album promotional tour to fly to the Bahamas to film a video for the song "Rock the Boat". The video, filmed on Abaco Island, was directed by Hype Williams, a major music video director known for his style and wit.
On August 25, 2001, after filming the video, Aaliyah and about 9-11 of her entourage took off from Marsh Harbour airport at 6:50pm EDT in a small Cessna 404 en route to Opa-Locka, Florida. A few minutes after take-off, the plane crashed about 200 feet from the runaway, killing Aaliyah and many others instantly. Four passengers were pulled alive from the wreckage, and one later died at a hospital in Nassau. Aaliyah was only 22 years old. Her funeral was held on Friday August 31st in New York, and 22 white doves were flown to celebrate each year of her life. Soon after her death, the hit singles 'More Than a woman' and 'Rock The Boat' were released, from her third album. In 2002, the film Queen of the Damned (2002) was released, in which Aaliyah played Queen Akasha. She was nominated for best Villain at the MTV Movie Awards 2002.
Aaliyah's short-lived, but brilliant career, was a true success story for a young African-American woman who went against all odds to be herself in an industry where originality is scarce. Truly missed by her family, friends, and fans, her music and film contributions will live forever. It's no wonder that her name means 'Highest, most ex-halted one; the best' in Hebrew. She had achieved so much in her twenty-two years.1979-2001 (22 years old)
Died in a crash with a Cessna 402B airplane at the Marsh Harbour Airport in Abaco Islands, Bahamas.- Transportation Department
One of Brazil's first great racing drivers, Pace was a contemporary and friend of countryman and two-time world champion Emerson Fittipaldi. Pace began racing in the 1960s and won three straight Brazilian national championships before moving to Europe to compete in the Formula 3 series. A versatile race driver, Pace competed in open-wheel formulas, sportscars, and rallys before getting his break in the ranks of the Formula 1 World Championship. Pace raced for future winning owner Frank Williams, driving a March. He then moved to Surtees, and drove well enough to attract the attention of Brabham, then one of the top teams. "Moco" proved his worth, taking several podium results and finally a win, at the 1975 Brazilian Grand Prix, his home race. For two and a half seasons, Pace raced for Brabham, but he was killed in a plane crash in Sao Paulo, just after the beginning of the 1977 season. Pace was 32.1944-1977 (32 years old)
Died in a crash with a private light aircraft near Sao Paulo, Brazil.- A future in movies for this fair-haired, fresh-faced young adult of the 1930s was by no means certain at the time of his untimely death in a mid-air plane collision. Hints of the All-American leading man promise Phillips Holmes managed to convey during the early to mid decade, particularly in the film adaptation of Theodore Dreiser 's novel An American Tragedy (1931), had faded significantly. In the meantime he was maintaining with stage work and had just graduated from Air Ground School as an aircraftsman when he suddenly died at age 35 on August 12, 1942.
Phillips, his sister Madeline and their youngest brother, Ralph Holmes (pronounced "Rafe," who later became an actor as well) came from ripe acting stock. Character actor Taylor Holmes was a well-established character player in vaudeville and on the stage and screen. He and actress wife Edna Phillips met during a production of "Hamlet" and first-born Phillips' odd first name was bestowed upon him courtesy of his Canadian-born mother. The children were often shunted about to live with various relatives while their parents were on the road. Phillips attended many different schools growing up and graduated from Newman Prep School in New Jersey. He traveled to Europe for his college education, attending Cambridge University in England and (later) Grenoble University in France. His natural ability at athletics led to solid respect as a member of the rowing team during his college years. He eventually returned to the US and decided upon Princeton.
An inherent interest in acting (Princeton's The Triangle Club) led to his stage debut in the Princeton Triangle Show "Napoleon Passes" at the Metropolitan Opera House in 1927. While at college he, by luck and via certain connections, also managed to make his film debut with Varsity (1928) and was offered a Paramount contract as a result. After a number of false starts, bit parts, bad pictures and a major bout with nervous exhaustion, Phillips began to score some early first impressions with juvenile leads in the films The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1929), Pointed Heels (1929), the Gary Cooper starrer Only the Brave (1930) and, more notably, The Devil's Holiday (1930) and Stolen Heaven (1931), both opposite established star Nancy Carroll.
It all led to the role of his career in Dreiser's An American Tragedy (1931) the ill-fated story of a wanderlust young man who falls hard for a beautiful socialite (Frances Dee) while trying to find a way to extricate himself from the clutches of a drab, maudlin girl from the wrong side of the tracks he had met earlier and impregnated (Sylvia Sidney). In the same part that would later establish Montgomery Clift as a archetypal tortured romantic in A Place in the Sun (1951), Holmes equipped himself admirably in a difficult role and was seemingly on his way to Hollywood stardom.
Firmly on the Paramount roster list, the handsome blue-eyed blond co-starred as both vulnerable, weak-willed gents and feistier men in comedy and melodrama, including Broken Lullaby (1932) and Two Kinds of Women (1932). He then signed with MGM and appeared in more of the same standard filming -- Night Court (1932), The Secret of Madame Blanche (1933) and Men Must Fight (1933). A huge chance for major attention turned bleak after being heavily promoted in the film Nana (1934) opposite beauteous Russian import Anna Sten. Touted as the "next Garbo", the movie tanked badly with his performance cited as bland and wooden, and the equally stiff Ms. Sten lost all hope for stardom. Phillips provided a bit more dash and élan in Caravan (1934) opposite Loretta Young but it was not enough to turn his career around. From then on he freelanced both here and abroad in mostly "B" fodder that included the "Our Gang" feature-length misfire General Spanky (1936) and the British programmers The Dominant Sex (1937) and (his swan song) Housemaster (1938), both with "tea rose" beauty Diana Churchill.
Phillps had to make do on stage at this point with his participation in such plays as "The Petrified Forest", "Golden Boy", "The Male Animal" and "The Philadelphia Story". Along with his career decline, he suffered upsets in his personal life. A fractured romance with scandalous millionaire chanteuse Libby Holman led to her marrying brother Ralph on the rebound. That 1939 marriage fell apart within a few years and Ralph would subsequently commit suicide in his NY apartment from a barbiturate overdose in 1945, three years after Phillips' death.
With WWII now a harsh reality, both brothers enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force toward the end of 1941. While Ralph became a pilot officer, Phillips attended the Air Ground School at Winnipeg. Following graduation, he and six of his aircraftsmen classmates were transferred but the plane carrying the men en route to their new destination (Ottawa) collided with another in Ontario killing all aboard.1907-1942 (35 years old)
Died in a mid-air collision with military planes over northwest Ontario, Canada. - Marie-Soleil Tougas was born on 3 May 1970 in St.-Hilaire, Québec, Canada. She was an actress, known for L'homme idéal (1996), Chambres en ville (1989) and Jasmine (1996). She died on 10 August 1997 in Kuujjuaq, Québec, Canada.1970-1997 (27 years old)
Died in a crash with a Cessna 180K airplane near Kuujjuaq, Quebec, Canada.
Other victims: Filmmaker Jean-Claude Lauzon. - Writer
- Director
- Editor
Lauzon came from a humble family and he worked in many different jobs, until he obtained a title in Communications, and went to Los Angeles to study cinema, in the late 70s. He made some shortcuts, the majority of which received awards, and then two films which also won many prizes and established him as one of the most important Canadian directors of the time. He was preparing his third film when he died, with his girlfriend, Marie-Soleil Tougas, in a plane crash.1953-1997 (43 years old)
Died in a crash with a Cessna 180K airplane near Kuujjuaq, Quebec, Canada.
Other victims: Actress Marie-Soleil Tougas.- Music Department
Subhas Chandra Bose was born on 23 January 1897 in Cuttack, Orissa Division, Bengal Presidency, British India. He is known for Adipurush (2023) and Dai Tôa kaigi (1943). He died on 17 August 1945 in Taipei, Taiwan.1897-1945 (48 years old)
Died of third-degree burns after a crash with a Japanese bomber plane in Taihoku, Taiwan.- Camera and Electrical Department
- Director
- Cinematographer
Once a public servant, CHI Po-lin served as an aerial photographer in the Taiwan Area National Expressway Engineering Bureau (TANEEB). In his spare time, he devoted himself to record digital aerial images of Taiwan's environment.
Following Typhoon Morakot's catastrophic rampage through Taiwan in 2009, he gave up his government job and founded a full-time production team (Taiwan Aerial Imaging, Inc.) dedicated solely to create the Taiwan's first aerial photography documentary, "Beyond Beauty: Taiwan from Above".
He was killed in a helicopter accident during the filming of a full-length sequel to "Beyond Beauty".1964-2017 (52 years old)
Died in a helicopter crash in Fengbin, Taiwan.- Actor
- Composer
- Music Department
Known as El Zorzal Criollo, the songbird of Buenos Aires, Carlos Gardel is a legendary figure in Uruguay and Argentina. He was born on December 11st, 1890, in Toulouse (France). His place of birth have been claimed by the Uruguayans and Argentinians, however, his Birth Certificate and his Will proves, and leaves no doubt, that Carlos Gardel was born in France. The charismatic singer's career coincided with the development of that intrinsically Argentine cultural icon, the tango (the traditional Argentinean music).
The elite overcame their aversion to the tango's humble origins and open sensuality only when the man and his music were already widely accepted in New York and Paris.
Radio performances and a film career extended this appeal. Gardel's sky-rocketing career was cut short in 1935, when he lost his life in a plane crash in Colombia. An orgy of grief swept from New York to Puerto Rico, and a woman in Havana suicided. Hordes of people thronged to pay their respects as the singer's body made the journey to its final resting place in a Buenos Aires cemetery, traveling via Colombia, New York and Río de Janeiro. Instantly immortal and preserved forever young, his enduring fame is measured by the oft-heard Argentine expression 'Gardel sings better every day'. Sixty years after his death, a devoted following keeps the legend blazing, playing Gardel's music daily, placing a lit cigarette in the hand of the life-sized statue which graces his tomb and keeping his few films in circulation.1890-1935 (44 years old)
Died in an airplane crash in Medellín, Colombia.
Other victims: Lyricist Alfredo Le Pera, guitarist Ángel Domingo Riverol- Actress
- Soundtrack
Grace Moore, the internationally famous star of the Metropolitan Opera, Broadway, motion pictures, radio and recordings, was born December 5, 1898, in Del Río near Newport, Tennessee. Her family moved to Jellico when she was a young girl. She attended Jellico High School where she was captain of the girls basketball team in 19l6. She was selected by Florenz Ziegfeld of Ziegfeld Follies fame as one of the ten most beautiful women in the world. She was nominated for an Academy Award for her motion picture, "One Night of Love", and was the subject of a movie titled, "So This is Love", in which Kathryn Grayson portrayed the "Tennessee Nightingale", as Grace was called. She died tragically in an airplane crash in 1947 at the height of her career.1898-1947 (48 years old)
Died in an airplane crash near the airport in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Other victims: Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, actress Gerda Neumann.- Camelia was born on 13 December 1919 in Alexandria, Egypt. She was an actress, known for Shari al-bahlawan (1949), Akher kedba (1950) and Waladi (1949). She died on 31 August 1950 in El Buhayra, Egypt.1929-1950 (20 years old)
Died in a plane crash in El Buhayra, Egypt. - Michèle Verly was born on 19 July 1909 in Paris, France. She was an actress, known for Monte Cristo (1929), The Soul of France (1928) and La maison des hommes vivants (1929). She died on 3 March 1952 in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France.1909-1952 (42 years old)
Died in a crash with an Air France SNCASE Languedoc plane on take-off from the airport in Nice, France.
Other victims: Shipowner John Emlyn-Jones, actress Lise Topart, dancer Harriet Toby. - Actress
- Producer
K. S. Sowmya, better known by her screen name Soundarya, was a yesteryear superstar. She worked in more than 100 films over 12 years in Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Hindi, and Malayalam cinema.
She worked with top directors and the best actors in the industry and is considered one of the most successful actresses in Telugu cinema after Savitri.
Soundarya began pursuing her M.B.B.S. in Bangalore but discontinued her studies in 1992 after the first year to make a career in the South Indian film industry.
Her first movie was the Kannada film Baa Nanna Preethisu (1992), followed by Gandharva (1992). Her first film in Tamil was Ponnumani (1993), in which she played the role of a mentally disabled person. She also did a Telugu movie Raithu Bharatam (1994) in 1994.
Starting with lead roles in Kannada films, she gradually became one of the most popular actresses in the Telugu industry after successful movies such as Hello Brother (1994), in which she starred with Nagarjuna Akkineni and Ramya Krishnan. She appeared in 11 films in 1995 and was appreciated for her role as Bhavani, a devotee of Goddess Ammoru in the movie Ammoru (1995).
In the late 90s, she delivered box-office hits like Arunachalam (1997) with Rajinikanth, which was the highest-grossing movie of the year, and Choodalani Vundi (1998), starring opposite Chiranjeevi, which took her to the peak of her career. Her movie Kaathala Kaathala (1998) in Tamil featuring Kamal Haasan and Prabhu Deva was later dubbed in Telugu as Navvandi Lavvandi.
Her other hits included Pavitra Bandham (1996), Aaro Pranam (1997), and Maa Ayana Bangaram (2014).
Soundarya's movies in different languages garnered love and appreciation from audiences and critics from different regions of the country. Some of her most well-received films include Pelli Peetalu (1998), Ninne Premistha (2000) in Telugu, and Anthahpuram (1998), which was directed by Krishna Vamsi. Anthahpuram won her a State Nandi Award and her second consecutive Filmfare Award for Best Actress.
In 1999, her top releases were Raja (1999), opposite Venkatesh Daggubati, and the Hindi movie Sooryavansham (1999), opposite Amitabh Bachchan. In 2000, she starred in blockbusters like Annayya (2000) and Ninne Premistha (2000).
In 2002, she received the National Film Award for Best Feature Film for Dweepa (2002). Over the years, she won three Nandi Awards, two Karnataka State Film Awards, and six Filmfare Awards South for her work.
Soundarya was interested in making her TV debut, but she had already committed to a two-month contract with the Bharatiya Janata Party to support them during their election campaign. She passed away in a plane crash during one of the campaign visits to Andhra Pradesh.
In 2004, she was signed to star in Nartanasala, which was to be produced/directed by Nandamuri Balakrishna, in which she would essay the role of Draupadi. However, the film could not be made due to her untimely demise.1972-2004 (31 years old)
Died in a plane crash on a university campus in Bengaluru, India.- Actor
- Music Department
- Composer
Daniel Balavoine was born on 5 February 1952 in Alençon, Orne, France. He was an actor and composer, known for Laurence Anyways (2012), The Trouble with You (2018) and Hier encore (2012). He died on 14 January 1986 in Gourma-Rharous, Mali.1952-1986 (33 years old)
Died in a helicopter crash after a desert storm in Gourma-Rharous, Mali.
Other victims: Motorcycle racer Thierry Sabine, helicopter pilot and humanitarian François-Xavier Bagnoud.- Music Artist
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Undoubtedly, Pedro Infante was, and still is, the idol of Mexico. Because of his movies (59 including 55 leading roles and four cameos), records (366 songs recorded between 1943 and 1956) and public appearances in Mexico and Latin America, Infante became a star and the most beloved human being in Mexican history. His fame and the phenomenon of his stardom hasn't been matched by any movie star in the years following his death. The main reason for this can be found in the extraordinary quality of his acting, his beautiful singing and something called "charm" that can't be learned or acquired. He was a natural actor, perfectly matched with all his costars, no matter if they were male or female, children or grandmothers. Although practically all his films were great box-office hits and still are shown on a daily basis on TV, the most popular of them were the "trilogy of bittersweet poverty"--Nosotros los pobres (1948), Ustedes, los ricos (1948) and Pepe El Toro (1953) and the comedies Los tres García (1947), ¡Vuelven los García! (1947), Los tres huastecos (1948), A.T.M.: ¡¡A toda máquina!! (1951), ¿Qué te ha dado esa mujer? (1951) and Dos tipos de cuidado (1953). He was the good friend, the good son, the romantic in love, the caring father, the sexy singer, the "macho" with a heart. He was capable of moving the feelings of men and women who found in him someone closely related to their lives. His death in a plane crash in 1957 is still one of the most remembered events in recent Mexican history. His popularity has grown even greater since then, reaching generations of Mexicans born after their idol was gone.1917-1957 (39 years old)
Died in a B-24 Liberator cargo plane crash in Mérida, Mexico. Infante was co-piloting the plane.- Music Artist
- Producer
- Actress
Dolores Janney "Jenni" Rivera was a Mexican-American actress, singer-songwriter, T.V. producer, spokesperson, philanthropist & entrepreneur known for her work within the banda and norteña music genres. She began recording in 1992, and her recordings often have themes of social issues, infidelity & relationships. Her tenth studio album, Jenni (2008), became her first number-one album in the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart in the United States. In 2010, she appeared in and produced the reality TV show Jenni Rivera Presents: Chiquis & Raq-C. She also appeared in and produced I Love Jenni starting in 2011 and Chiquis 'n Control in 2012. Rivera, along with six others, died in a plane crash at Iturbide, Nuevo León, Mexico on December 9, 2012.1969-2012 (43 years old)
Died in a crash with a Learjet 25 business plane near Iturbide, Mexico.- Actor
- Producer
Pablo Santos was born on 9 January 1987 in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. He was an actor and producer, known for Greetings from Tucson (2002), Alias (2001) and Shackles (2005). He died on 15 September 2006 in Toluca, Mexico.1987-2006 (19 years old)
Died in a crash with a Piper PA-46 Malibu Mirage private plane he was piloting near the Toluca International Airport in Toluca, Mexico.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Tamara [Drasin], a native of Sorochintzy, in the Ukraine. Attended elementary school and Hunter College in New York City. After appearing in a 1927 revue called "The New Yorkers" (not the Cole Porter show) she played many Russian Restaurants in Manhattan, notably the Gypsy Tavern and the Kretchma. She also had brief appearances in Broadway shows such as "Crazy Quilt," "Americana" and "Free For All." Later she rose to fame in "Roberta," "Right This Way" and "Leave It to Me," in which she sang "Get Out Of Town." In 1936 she starred at New York's Versailles in a night club act. She was one of 24 casualties of a plane crash in the Tagus River, near Lisbon in March, 1943. Jane Froman survived. In private life was wife of Erwin D. Swann, vice president of Foote, Cone & Belding Ad Agency. Luther Adler delivered the eulogy at her service, attended by 500 mourners on 16 April 1943.1905-1943 (37 years old)
Died in a crash with a United Service Organizations plane near Lisbon, Portugal.- Lech Kaczynski was a Polish politician and lawyer. He co-founded with his twin brother the political party Prawo i Sprawiedliwosc and served as its first president from 2001 to 2003. Kaczynski held several significant positions, including President of the Supreme Audit Office (1992-1995), Minister of Justice and Prosecutor General (2000-2001), and Mayor of Warsaw (2002-2005). In 2005, he was elected President of Poland, a role he held until his untimely death in 2010 by Smolensk air disaster.1949-2010 (60 years old)
Died in a crash with a Polish Air Force Tupolev Tu-154 near Smolensk, Russia.
Other victims: Attorney Joanna Agacka-Indecka, military officer Andrzej Blasik, politician Krystyna Bochenek, military officer Tadeusz Buk, military priest Miron Chodakowski, military officer Czeslaw Cywinski, politician Leszek Deptula, politician Grzegorz Dolniak, politician Janina Fetlinska, military officer Franciszek Gagor, politician Grazyna Gesicka, military officer Kazimierz Gilarski, politician Przemyslaw Gosiewski, politician Mariusz Handzlik, priest Roman Indrzejczyk, politician Izabela Jaruga-Nowacka, former President of Poland Ryszard Kaczorowski, former First Lady of Poland Maria Kaczynska, politician Sebastian Karpiniuk, military officer Andrzej Karweta, diplomat Mariusz Kazana, diplomat Janusz Kochanowski, military officer Stanislaw Komornicki, politician Stanislaw Komorowski, politician Andrzej Kremer, historian Janusz Krupski, historian Janusz Kurtyka, military officer Bronislaw Kwiatkowski, politician Tomasz Merta, politician Aleksandra Natalli-Swiat, sports official Piotr Nurowski, politician Maciej Plazynski, bishop Tadeusz Ploski, military officer Wlodzimierz Potasinski, historian Andrzej Przewoznik, politician Krzysztof Putra, priest Ryszard Rumianek, politician Arkadiusz Rybicki, sculptor Wojciech Seweryn, banker Slawomir Skrzypek, politician Wladyslaw Stasiak, politician Aleksander Szczyglo, politician Jerzy Szmajdzinski, politician Jolanta Szymanek-Deresz, trade unionist Anna Walentynowicz, politician Zbigniew Wassermann, politician Wieslaw Woda, politician Edward Wojtas, politician Pawel Wypych, politician Stanislaw Zajac, actor Janusz Zakrzenski. - Janusz Zakrzenski was born on 8 March 1936 in Przededworze, Swietokrzyskie, Poland. He was an actor, known for The Ashes (1965), Na dobre i na zle (1999) and Polonia restituta (1981). He died on 10 April 2010 in Smolensk, Smolensk Oblast, Russia.1936-2010 (74 years old)
Died in a crash with a Polish Air Force Tupolev Tu-154 near Smolensk, Russia.
Other victims: Attorney Joanna Agacka-Indecka, military officer Andrzej Blasik, politician Krystyna Bochenek, military officer Tadeusz Buk, military priest Miron Chodakowski, military officer Czeslaw Cywinski, politician Leszek Deptula, politician Grzegorz Dolniak, politician Janina Fetlinska, military officer Franciszek Gagor, politician Grazyna Gesicka, military officer Kazimierz Gilarski, politician Przemyslaw Gosiewski, politician Mariusz Handzlik, priest Roman Indrzejczyk, politician Izabela Jaruga-Nowacka, former President of Poland Ryszard Kaczorowski, First Lady of Poland Maria Kaczynska, President of Poland Lech Kaczynski, politician Sebastian Karpiniuk, military officer Andrzej Karweta, diplomat Mariusz Kazana, diplomat Janusz Kochanowski, military officer Stanislaw Komornicki, politician Stanislaw Komorowski, politician Andrzej Kremer, historian Janusz Krupski, historian Janusz Kurtyka, military officer Bronislaw Kwiatkowski, politician Tomasz Merta, politician Aleksandra Natalli-Swiat, sports official Piotr Nurowski, politician Maciej Plazynski, bishop Tadeusz Ploski, military officer Wlodzimierz Potasinski, historian Andrzej Przewoznik, politician Krzysztof Putra, priest Ryszard Rumianek, politician Arkadiusz Rybicki, sculptor Wojciech Seweryn, banker Slawomir Skrzypek, politician Wladyslaw Stasiak, politician Aleksander Szczyglo, politician Jerzy Szmajdzinski, politician Jolanta Szymanek-Deresz, trade unionist Anna Walentynowicz, politician Zbigniew Wassermann, politician Wieslaw Woda, politician Edward Wojtas, politician Pawel Wypych, politician Stanislaw Zajac. - Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin became the first man to enter deep space on April 12, 1961, when the Soviet cosmonaut made a flight that orbited Earth lasting one hour and 48 minutes in his Vostok 1 spacecraft. This accomplishment made the smiling Soviet pilot internationally famous as the first man to venture into space, the final frontier. The feat beat the Americans, who put Alan Shepherd into space in a sub-orbital flight on May 5, 1961, and did not have an astronaut orbit the earth until John Glenn accomplished the feat on February 20, 1962.
The perpetually smiling Gagarin, who was promoted from senior lieutenant to major in the Soviet Air Force and was awarded the honor Hero of the Soviet Union for his accomplishment, became an international celebrity. He made many trips to foreign lands, including three to the United Kingdom, to publicize the Soviet space program that, since its inception with Sputnik in 1957, had been more advanced than that of the United States. Thus, Gagarin was a prime pawn in the propaganda wars between the two countries at the height of the Cold War.
He was appointed a deputy to the Supreme Soviet in 1962 before he went back to the Soviet cosmonaut training facility, Star City, where the extremely bright Gargarin worked designing reusable spacecraft. He eventually was promoted to the rank of full Colonel of the Soviet Air Force. His celebrity was still so great, the Soviet government refused to let him return to space, though he eventually was chosen as one of the astronauts for the Soviet moon landing program. Though he had been trained as jet fighter pilot, his superiors limited his flight time so as not to lose one of the USSR's greatest heroes of the Cold War period.
Gagarin was chosen as the backup pilot for the Soyuz 1 flight, the first flight of a program that was intended to put a Soviet cosmonaut on the moon by 1968. The flight was made by team leader Vladimir Komarov, and the launch of Soyuz 1 was opposed by Gagarin due to safety concerns. Gararin was right: the Soyyz I capsule crashed after re-entry on April 24, 1967, making Komarov the first person to die during a space flight. After the incident, Gagarin again was banned from participating in the manned space program as an active cosmonaut. He was appointed deputy training director of Star City.
The 34-year-old Gagarin died on March 27, 1968 during a routine training flight in a MiG-15UTI. The ashes of Gagarin and co-pilot Vladimir Seryogin were entombed in the Kremlin and Star City was renamed in his honor.
Soviet space program architect Sergei P. Korolev claimed that Gagarin had a smile "that lit up the Cold War". But for the crash of Soyuz 1 (which signaled the ultimate failure of the Soviet moonshot program), Gagarin, the first man in space, might have been the first on the moon. He was honored by American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, the first men on the moon, when they left behind a bag containing medals commemorating Gagarin and Komarov on the lunar surface.1934-1968 (34 years old)
Died in a routine training flight crash with a MiG-15UTI fighter jet near Kirzhach, Russia.
Other victims: Test pilot Vladimir Seryogin. - Actress
- Producer
Fanny Cano was born on 28 February 1944 in Huetamo, Michoacán, Mexico. She was an actress and producer, known for Yesenia (1970), Rubi (1968) and Un largo viaje hacia la muerte (1968). She was married to Sergio Luis Cano. She died on 7 December 1983 in Madrid, Spain.Died in a collision between her Aviaco DC-9 and an Iberia Boeing 727 on the runway of Madrid-Barajas Airport in Madrid, Spain.
Other victims: Pianist Marc Raubenheimer.- Producer
- Actress
- Additional Crew
Sultry, buxom and shapely blonde looker Eve Meyer was born Evelyn Eugene Turner on December 13, 1928 in Griffin, Georgia. Eve was a popular high profile pin-up model throughout the 50s who was the Playmate of the Month in the June, 1955 issue of "Playboy." Other men's magazines Meyer did pictorials for and/or graced the covers of are "Bold," "Scamp," "Caper," and "Modern Man." She often worked as a model for glamor photographer and independent adult filmmaker Russ Meyer. Eve was married to Meyer from 1952 to 1969. She made her film debut with an uncredited bit part in the 1955 feature "Artists and Models." Eve played the titular role in the Meyer movie "Eve and the Handyman." Moreover, she worked as an associate producer on such Meyer films as "Lorna," "Mudhoney," "Motor Psycho," "Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!," "Vixen!," "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls," and "The Seven Minutes." Eve Meyer was a successful businesswoman when her life was tragically cut short at age 48 in the Tenerlife airplane disaster in the Canary Islands on March 27, 1977.1928-1977 (48 years old)
Died in a collision between her Pan Am Boeing 747 and a KLM Boeing 747 on the runway of Los Rodeos Airport in Tenerife, Spain.
Other victims: Civil servant A.P. Hamann.- June Thorburn was born on 8 June 1931 in Karachi, India. She was an actress, known for The Pickwick Papers (1952), Orders Are Orders (1954) and Fast and Loose (1954). She was married to Morten Smith-Petersen and Aldon Richard Bryse-Harvey. She died on 4 November 1967 in West Sussex, England, UK.1931-1967 (36 years old)
Died in a crash with an Iberia Airlines Sud Aviation Caravelle at Blackdown Hill, England.