Dag Hammarskjöld dies in plane crash

1961NotableContested

UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld dies when his plane crashes near Ndola in Northern Rhodesia while on a Congo peace mission. A UN inquiry reopened in 2015 keeps the case open.

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Contested history

Consensus: The cause is unresolved: early inquiries blamed pilot error or found no cause, and the UN investigation led by Mohamed Chande Othman finds it plausible that an external attack or threat caused the crash.

Pilot error on approachDebated

The 1962 Rhodesian inquiry blamed the crew, but the UN's own 1962 inquiry could not rule out sabotage or attack.

Shot down or forced down by another aircraftDebated

Othman cites eyewitnesses and probable intercepted communications and says key records likely remain in member states' archives.

A bomb or sabotage on boardSpeculation

Sabotage has been raised repeatedly, but no physical evidence of it has been found.