List of Famous Indian Personalities Who Died in Air Crashes

The recent death of CDS General Bipin Rawat has shaken the entire nation. The first CDS of India died in a chopper crash in the Coonoor district of Tamil Nadu. Bipin Rawat had survived an air crash earlier but this time he could not. There have been many personalities that have lost their lives in such air crashes. Let us take a look at the list of Indians who have died in such air crashes/ accidents. 

List of Indians Who Died in An Air Crash:

1. CDS Bipin Rawat:

A military chopper that was carrying the Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and 13 other members faced an untimely demise due to the crash of the helicopter over Coonoor. The crew members and his wife Madhulika Rawat also lost her life in the same chopper crash. 

2. Dorjee Khandu:

He was the chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh who lost his life in the helicopter that crashed while taking him in the West Kameng district of the state. 

3. YS Rajasekhara Reddy:

He was the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh and died in an air crash involving a twin-engined Bell 430 helicopter in the Nallamala Hills of Andhra Pradesh in 2009. An inquiry was conducted into the crash and it was later revealed that the helicopter was not capable of being flown. It was due to the poor judgements made by the pilots that the helicopter was flown and it crashed. 

4. OP Jindal:

He was the Power Minister of Harayana and a leading industrialist as well. He along with agricultural Minister Surendra Singh was killed in a chopper crash near Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh. 

5. KS Sowmya: 

She was an actress and also a member of the Bhartiya Janta Party. She died at the age of 31 in a helicopter crash while travelling to Karimnagar from Bengaluru during an election campaign for the party. 

6. G.M.C. Balayogi:

GMC Balayogi was a Telugu Desam Party leader and Lok Sabha Speaker and died in a helicopter crash in the Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh on March 3, 2002. It was caused by a technical issue. 

7. Madhavrao Scindia:

Another Congressman and a member of the dynasty of Gwalior passed away due to the air crash in September 2001. He was the father of Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia. The senior Scindia was on the way to Kanpur in a chartered flight which crashed near a village in Bhogaon tehsil of Mainpuri district of Central Uttar Pradesh. 

8. Surendra Nath: 

The former Governor of Himachal Pradesh Surendra Nath was killed along with nine members of his family. His aircraft had crashed in the high mountains of Himachal Pradesh. 

9. Sanjay Gandhi:

Sanjay Gandhi was the Congress leader and the son of Indira Gandhi. He was killed in an air crash in June 1980 while he was flying Pitts S-2A aircraft in Delhi. His death was surprising as Sanjay Gandhi had a commercial drivers licence and an instructors rating as well. Even Rajiv Gandhi, the PM of India was an Indian Airlines pilot. 

10. Subhash Chandra Bose: 

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose is a prominent name of the Indian Independence struggle. The founder of the Azad Hind Fauj died in a plane crash while travelling from Taipei to Manchuria. His death has been contested by his family members as well. 

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