Here is a comprehensive list of famous people who were killed in aircraft mishaps.

Sep 17, 1908: Thomas Selfridge, 26. First person to be killed in a powered aircraft in recorded aviation history. Fort Myer, Virginia in a Wright Flyer III Model A. During a demonstration flight, a U.S. Army flyer flown by Orville Wright nose-dived into the ground from a height of approximately 75 feet, killing Lt. Thomas E. Selfridge, who was a passenger.

One of two propellers separated in flight, tearing loose the wires bracing the rudder and causing the loss of control of the aircraft. Orville Wright suffered broken ribs, pelvis, and a leg. Selfridge suffered a crushed skull and died a short time later.

Mar 31, 1931: Knute Rockne, 43, of Notre Dame football coach fame, near  Bazaar, Kansas in Trans Continental & Western Airways Flight 599
Fokker F-10A Tri-motor
NC999E.  One of the plane’s wings separated in flight after penetrating a rainstorm, and the aircraft crashed into a wheat field. A structural design flaw caused wing-aileron flutter, which led to the wing separation. All 8 aboard killed.

Aug 15, 1935: Will Rogers, 56 & Wiley Post, 37, American humorist & Adventurer. In Walakpi, near Point Barrow, Alaska in a Lockheed Orion Explorer NR12283.
After making a forced landing in fog, the plane took off, rose about 50 feet and crashed into shallow water. 2 killed.

Jul 2, 1937: Amelia Earhart, 39, Aviator. First female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic. Off Lea, New Guinea in a Lockheed 10E Electra
NR16020. Disappeared en route from Lae to Howland Island. Most likely, they ran out of fuel and ditched into the ocean. Her navigator, Fred Noonan, was also killed.

Jan 16, 1942:
Carole Lombard
33, movie actress
(real name Alice Jane Peters). American movie actress married to Clark Gable. Near Las Vegas, Nevada in Trans Continental & Western Airways, Flight 3, in a
Douglas DC-3
NC1946. Plane crashed into Mt. Potosi. Lombard was returning from a war bond promotion. The aircraft drifted off course for reasons unknown. All 22 aboard killed, including Lombard’s mother and press agent.

Aug 12, 1944:
Joseph P. Kennedy Jr.,
29. Older brother of President John F. Kennedy. Blythgurgh, England, in Consolidated PB4Y-1
32271. Intending to bail out to leave another aircraft to guide a plane via remote control into a German sub pen, the plane blew up before he could exit.

Dec 15, 1944: Glenn Miller,
40. American band leader and musician. Over the English Channel in UC-64A Noorduyn Norseman
44-70285. Most likely accidentally hit by bombs jettisoned by RAF bombers returning from an unsuccessful raid.

May 17, 1945: Robert Hutchins 20. “Wheezer” of the Little Rascals. Twelve miles NW of Merced Army Air Field, California on North American AT-6D-NT
42-86536. While attemping to land during a training exercise, Hutchins had a midair collision with 42-49068.

May 13, 1948: Kathleen Kennedy Cavendish, 28. Sister of President John Kennedy. Mount Coron, France. Skyways
de Havilland Dove 1
G-AJOU. Crashed in a storm. All 10 aboard killed.

Mar 22, 1958: Mike Todd,
49, film director and producer and Art Cohn,
50, screenwriter. Grants, New Mexico in Lockheed Loadstar N300E
CN:2312. The aircraft crashed in an area of fog, snow and thunderstorms.  Liz Taylor, his wife, stayed home ill with bronchitis. The plane was named The Lucky Liz. All 4 aboard including Art Cohn, his biographer, were killed.

Feb 3, 1959: Ritchie Valens,17; Buddy Holly, 22;
Jiles “The Big Bopper” Richardson,
28, rock and roll singers. Mason City, Iowa. Beechcraft Bonanza
N3794N. Crashed shortly after taking off into poor weather conditions. The pilot was not IFR qualified and flying VFR. Possibly caused by spatial disorientation, unfamiliar with the altitude indicator or icing. Valens was able to go on the flip of a coin, leaving Waylon Jennings behind. 4 killed, including pilot Roger Peterson.

Mar 5, 1963: Patsy Cline
30, Hawkshaw Hawkins
39, Cowboy Copas 49, country western singers.  Camden, Tennessee. Piper Comanche N7000P. The plane took off from Dyersburg and flew into a storm. The pilot was not instrument rated and lost control and crashed after entering an area of stormy weather. Randy Hughes, Cline’s manager, also killed. All 4 aboard killed.

Jul 31, 1964: Jim Reeves
40, country western singer. Near Nashville, Tennessee in Beechcraft 35-B33 Debonair
N8972M. Piloted by Reeves, the plane crashed in an area of thunderstorms into dense woods 10 miles south of Nashville en route from Batesville to Nashville. It took 2 days to find the wreckage. Pilot error. VFR flight into adverse weather conditions. His manager, Dean Manuel, also killed.

Dec 10, 1967: Otis Redding
26, singer. Near Madison, Wisconsin. Beechcraft H18
N390R cn:BA-623. Went into a spin and crashed into icy Lake Monona in fog. Undetermined cause. Four members of his Bar-Kays band also killed. 5 of 6 aboard killed.

Aug 31, 1969: Rocky Marciano, 45, boxer. Newton, Iowa in Cessna 172H N3149X cn:55229. Took off in rainy weather, barely climbing.  Crashed into a lone oak tree. Inexperienced pilot not IFR qualified. Marciano was returning home for his birthday party.  3 killed.

May 28, 1971: Audie Murphy, 46. American WWII hero, movie actor. Roanoke, Virginia in Aero Commander 680
N601JJ cn:491-161. Crashed in mountains in heavy thunderstorms. Continued VFR flight into adverse weather conditions. Entered instrument weather at too low of an altitude to clear mountain. All 5 aboard killed.

Dec 31, 1972: Roberto Clemente, 38. Baseball player for the Pittsburg Pirates, outfielder. San Juan, Puerto Rico, American Express Leasing
Douglas DC-7CF
N500AE cn:45130. Crashed after taking off after losing power in the No. 2 and 3 engines. Overloaded, poor maintenance. Clemente was on a relief mission to deliver supplies for earthquake victims in Nicaragua. All 5 aboard killed.

Sep 20, 1973: Jim Croce
30. American singer. Natchitoches, Louisiana in Beechcraft E18S
N50JR BA-176. Crashed into trees at the end of the runway while taking off after not gaining altitude. Pilot failed to see/to avoid objects, obstructions.  Also killed were his publicist Kenny Cortese, singer Maury Muehleisen, road manager Dennis Rast, comedian George Stevens, and pilot Robert Elliot.  All 6 aboard killed.

Jan 6, 1977: Natalie “Dolly” Sinatra, 82. Mother of entertainer Frank Sinatra. Near Palm Springs, California. Gates Learjet 24B N12MK. After leaving Palm Springs Municipal Airport, the plane never changed heading and flew into Mt Gorgonio. Crew error. All 4 aboard killed.

May 16, 1977: Michael Findlay, 33. American horror film director in New York, New York. In a Sikorsky S61L helicopter 
N619PA. While boarding the helicopter, the gear collapsed due to a fatigue fracture, decapitating Findlay and killing 3 other passengers.

Aug 1 1977: Francis Gary Powers, 47. Newscaster. Powers was famous for piloting the U2 aircraft that was shot down over Russia in 1960. Encino, California: Bell 206B Jetranger helicopter
N4TV. Flying for Channel 4 news, the helicopter ran out of fuel returning from covering a fire.

Oct 20, 1977: Ronnie Van Zant, 29. Lead singer for Lynyrd Skynyrd Band. Near Gillsburg, Mississippi. L & J Company
Convair CV-300
N55VM. Ran low on fuel and crashed into a wooded area. Malfunctioning engine that used excessive fuel. Three other band members killed. Six of 26 aboard killed, including Cassie and Steve Gaines.

Mar 19,1982: Randy Rhoads, 25. Lead guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne. Leesburg, Florida in Beech Bonanza F35 N567LT.
The plane crashed into a house after a wing clipped Ozzy Osbourne’s tour bus. The pilot was fooling around and attempted to buzz the bus.  All 3 aboard killed, including the pilot and Rachel Youngblood, the band’s hairdresser.

Jul 23, 1982: Vic Morrow, 57. American movie actor. Valencia, California. Bell UH-1B Huey helicopter
N87701. The helicopter crashed while filming the movie “Twilight Zone”, decapitating Vic Morrow and killing 2 child actors, Myca Dinh Le and Rene Chen. Special effects explosion hit the tail rotor, causing the helicopter to crash.

Jul 28, 1982: Keith Green was a 28 year old talented singer, songwriter, and musician who was a pioneer in the contemporary Christian music genre when he died in a tragic plane crash on July 28, 1982, along with his two young children and nine other people.

Dec 31, 1985: Ricky Nelson, 45. American rock and roll singer. De Kalb, Texas. Douglas DC-3 N711Y.q
Crashed into a field after smoke filled the cockpit and cabin. Possible faulty heater. Nelson’s fiancé Helen Blair, soundman Clark Russell, and members of his back-up group, The Stone Canyon Band, Andy Chapin, Rick Intveld, Bobby Neal, and Patrick Woodward also killed. Both pilots survived. 

Mar 21, 1987: Dino Martin,
35. Son of entertainer Dean Martin. Mount San Gorgonio, California. F-4C Phantom jet fighter. While performing a maximum takeoff climb, the Air National Guard aircraft, entered clouds and crashed into a wall of granite while inverted at a speed of 560 mph.

Aug 27, 1990: Stevie Ray Vaughan, 35. American singer, songwriter, blues guitarist. Elkhorn, Wisconsin in Bell BHT-206B helicopter N16933.
Crashed into terrain after taking off in fog. Pilot error. Failure of pilot to attain adequate altitude before flying over rising terrain. All 5 aboard killed.

Mar 16, 1991: Reba McEntire band. American country singing group. San Diego, California. Hawker Siddeley DH-125-1A/522
N831LC. Seven members of the Reba McEntire band killed. Hit rising terrain at the top of a mountain after taking off. Pilot error. All 10 aboard killed.

Oct 12, 1997: John Denver, 53. American singer, songwriter. Monterey Bay near Pacific Grove, California. Rutan Long EZ experimental
N555JD. Piloted by Denver. Lost control and went into a dive while reaching behind to turn a fuel  transfer switch.

Jul 16,1999: John F. Kennedy Jr., 38. American lawyer, journalist, magazine publisher, and son of President Kennedy. Off Martha’s Vineyard,
Massachusetts. Piper Saratoga II N9253N.
Piloted by Kennedy, the aircraft went out of control and spiraled into the Atlantic Ocean SW of Martha’s Vineyard. 

Kennedy, not IFR qualified, lost reference with the ground.  His wife and sister-in-law were also killed. VFR flight into IFR conditions. All 3 aboard killed.

Jan 26, 2020: Kobe Bryant, 41. NBA basketball star. Calabasas, California. Sikorsky S-76B
N72EX. The helicopter crashed in hilly terrain. Nine killed. Spatial disorientation after entering cloud.

☆☆☆☆☆

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