The Deadliest of Corporate Crashes

A group of Australian mining executives were killed in a small plane crash in West Africa on Saturday, officials said today. Among those on board were Ken Talbot, a billionaire tycoon who was set to be tried on corruption charges in August, and the entire management board of Sundance Resources, an international iron ore company.

The accident is a stark reminder that sometimes, without warning, a company’s brain trust (or even that of a country) can be lost in an instant. Here are some other notable corporate accidents:

April 10, 2010: Many top Polish officials, including President Lech Kaczynski, are killed when the Russian jet they’re in crashes as the plane comes in for a landing in Smolensk, Russia. All 96 people on board die.

February 17, 2010: Three midlevel engineers of Tesla Motors, one of the most talked-about operations these days given its status as a high-profile electric car company, die when the twin-engine Cessna 310 airplane they were riding in collided with power lines.

July 31, 2008: Three executives of Revel Entertainment, a gaming company that is developing an Atlantic City hotel and casino, were among 11 who died when a Raytheon Hawker 800 business jet crashed during a thunderstorm as it prepared to land in Minnesota. Also killed were two executives with APG International, a glazing contractor.

April 4, 1994: Frank G. Wells, who had been president of the Walt Disney Company, died in a helicopter crash in central Nevada. Wells was not on a work trip at the time of the accident, but instead was taking part in a skiing expedition.