From General Zia to General Haddad: 'Mysterious' air crashes that sparked speculation

 From General Zia to General Haddad: 'Mysterious' air crashes that sparked speculation

 

On December 23, 2025, General Mohammed al-Haddad, the head of the Libyan National Unity Government's military, was killed in a plane crash in Turkey.

He was flying from the Turkish capital Ankara to Tripoli when his plane lost contact shortly after takeoff, and the wreckage of the plane was found in a village 105 kilometers from Ankara.

In addition to the Libyan army chief, the plane was also carrying the country's Chief of Staff of the Land Forces, Lieutenant General Al-Faturi, Director of the Military Manufacturing Authority, Brigadier General Mahmoud Al-Qatawi, and Advisor to the Chief of General Staff, Mohammed Al-Aswi Diab, who were also killed.

This latest plane crash has brought back memories of past accidents in which prominent military officials, political figures, and members of the royal family were killed.

The death of Ebrahim Raisi and speculation

In May 2024, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was also killed in an air strike. His helicopter crashed near the border with Iran's neighboring country of Azerbaijan.

The Iranian president was accompanied by the then Iranian Foreign Minister and other officials in the helicopter. The accident occurred when Iranian President Raisi was returning from jointly inaugurating a dam with the Azerbaijani president.

After the inauguration of the project, the Iranian president was traveling in a helicopter with his delegation to the Iranian city of Tabriz, where he was supposed to inaugurate an oil refinery, but before reaching Tabriz, his helicopter crashed.

 

After investigating the incident, the Iranian military ruled out the possibility of sabotage in the accident, saying that heavy fog was the cause of the helicopter crash. However, the chief of staff under former Iranian President Raisi said that the weather was clear when the accident occurred.  

 

       Commander Yevgeny Prigozhin, who declared a coup against Putin

A temporary monument to Yevgeny Prigozhin, erected in St. Petersburg, his hometown in Russia, 40 days after his death,Photo source: Reuters

In August 2023, Commander Yevgeny Prigozhin died along with ten members of his group in a plane crash northwest of Moscow, Russia.

Yevgeny Prigozhin played a key role in Russia's invasion of Ukraine. He is in charge of a private army of mercenaries who led the Russian invasion of key areas in this war.

He did not hold any official position in Russia but was very powerful. He signed contracts worth up to three billion dollars with the government and the military.

But he later took up arms against the regular Russian president. He launched an 'armed coup' against President Putin's government inside Russia and ordered his private army to seize key Russian military installations.

The incident caused intense controversy at the time because commander Yevgeny Prigozhin had declared a coup against Russia two months earlier and threatened to march on Moscow.

Former Pakistani military president Zia-ul-Haq

Former Pakistani military president Zia-ul-Haq also died in a similar plane crash.

In 1988, his plane crashed near the Pakistani city of Bahawalpur.

After a long-running investigation, technical problems were blamed for the crash.

In addition to Zia-ul-Haq, several senior Pakistani military officials and the US ambassador to Pakistan, Arnold Raphael, were also on board the crashed plane.

After the crash, news published in the US media presented various theories about the plane’s destruction, such as a ground-launched missile hitting the plane, etc.

Zia-ul-Haq’s son Ijaz-ul-Haq has also said that the mango crates on the plane contained explosives, but later no such information was confirmed.

BBC Urdu published a detailed report on the incident, which can be read by clicking here: ‘The C-130 had crashed...’ I told the captain to go straight to Rawalpindi.

Her Majesty Queen Al Hussein of Jordan

Her Majesty Queen Al Hussein of Jordan at Heathrow Airport in the British capital London, September 1973, Photo source: Getty Images

, Photo captionHer Majesty Queen Al Hussein of Jordan at Heathrow Airport in London, September 1973

A similar air crash also proved fatal for Queen Al Hussein, the widow of former King Hussein bin Talal of Jordan.

In February 1977, she was returning from the southern city of Tufail in Sudan when her helicopter crashed en route.

The Jordanian Minister of Health and other senior officials were also killed in the accident.

Amman International Airport was renamed after Her Majesty Queen Al Hussein for 40 days after the accident.

Alia Al Hussein was the third wife of the King of Jordan and is the mother of Prince Ali bin Al Hussein, who is now the president of the West Asian Football Federation and the Jordanian Football Association.

Former Iraqi President Abdul Salam Aref

Former Iraqi President Abdul Salam Aref, Image source: Getty Images

, Image caption: Former Iraqi President Abdul Salam Aref

Former Iraqi President Abdul Salam Aref was killed in a helicopter crash in April 1966. The crash occurred near the southern Iraqi city of Basra.

Abdul Salam Aref was succeeded by his brother Abdul Rahman, who took over as president after two years in office.

At the time, the crash was considered by many to be a mystery.