US denies role in General Zia’s plane crash

October 9th, 2009 NEW YORK - A UN surveillance plane crashed in Haiti Friday, killing all 11 people on board, the UN said. The dead included the crew members and peacekeepers from Uruguay and Jordan, the UN said.

September 8th, 2009 PARIS - Aviation insurance companies are experiencing one of their worst years on record due to a number of costly plane crashes, according to information released at a meeting of global reinsurance companies in Monte Carlo. According to estimates, three plane crashes this year will force insurers to pay more than $1.3 billion (930 million euros) in compensation.

September 7th, 2009 LAHORE - Israel has rejected reports regarding its intelligence agency, Mossad's involvement in former Pakistan Army chief General Zia-ul-Haq's plane crash. Terming the allegations as 'baseless', Israeli Foreign Office spokesman Egaal Gilmore refused to comment on the report saying the government does not have any stance on such claims.

September 6th, 2009 LAHORE - Former Pakistan Intelligence Bureau chief Brigadier (retired) Imtiaz Ahmad has said that United States was behind the assassination of former Army chief Zia-ul-Haq. In an interview with a private television channel, Ahmed claimed that US masterminded the Bahawalpur plane crash, in which Haq was killed, in collaboration with 'internal powers of Pakistan'.

August 24th, 2009 SAO PAULO - A single-engine plane crashed in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, killing two people, authorities said. The plane, which began its trip in Vutoporanga, went out of control and crashed Saturday near the city of Comendador Gomes, the fire department said.

August 15th, 2009 LISBON - The two passengers of a light aircraft died when it crashed near a village on the outskirts of the Portuguese city of Evora, according to media reports Saturday. An unoccupied private home in the central Portuguese village was set ablaze and another building damaged in Friday's crash.

July 24th, 2009 PARIS - The 12-year-old girl who miraculously survived the June 30 crash of a Yeminia Airbus A310 near the Comoros islands has left hospital care in Paris, France Info radio reported Friday. Bahiya Bakari spent 10 hours clinging to wreckage in the water after the plane plunged into the sea.

July 19th, 2009 LOS ANGELES - A small plane crashed in Santa Clarita near Los Angeles Saturday, killing two people on board, authorities said. The plane crashed in the middle of a street at noon, said Brendon Peart of the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

July 15th, 2009 TEHRAN - All 168 people on board an Iranian airliner which crashed shortly after takeoff from here Wednesday were killed, police and health ministry officials confirmed. The fully-laden three-engine Tupolev plane, carrying 153 passengers and 15 crew memebrs, crashed around 11.30 a.m.

July 15th, 2009 LONDON - The bouquet throwing tradition turned into tragedy at an Italian wedding, after throwing of the flowers caused a plane to crash in Suvereto, near Livorno in western Tuscany. A couple had rented a small jet to fly over their guests at Montioni park, and drop the bride's bouquet to women standing below.

July 10th, 2009 LONDON - The cause of late American millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett's plane crash two years ago might have been caused by strong wind and turbulence. Fossett, who set more than 100 records during a thrill-seeking career, disappeared in September 2007, after taking off on a solo flight from a private airstrip at a Nevada ranch, reports Times Online.

July 2nd, 2009 PARIS - The Air France Airbus A330-200 that crashed into the Atlantic one month ago was not destroyed in flight, an official with the French Office of Accident Investigation (BEA) said Thursday at Le Bourget airport near Paris. Alain Bouillard, who is in charge of the investigation, said an analysis of the fragments of the plane that have been recovered suggests that "the plane seems to have hit the surface of the water in the line of flight with a strong vertical acceleration".

June 5th, 2009 London, June 5 (ANI): Brazilian officials have admitted that debris found floating in the Atlantic, which was believed to be from the Air France crash, is only 'sea trash'.Up to now, no material from the plane has been recovered," The Times quoted Brigadier Cardoso, as saying in the northeastern city of Recife. Items, including a cargo pallet and two buoys, pulled from the ocean early yesterday.

May 8th, 2009 MEXICO CITY - Three military personnel were killed when the small plane in which they were travelling crashed in western Mexico, an official said. "There are three bodies.

March 6th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Two Pakistan Air Force pilots were killed Thursday when their Mushshak plane crashed in the eastern province of Punjab, the military said. The propeller-driven aircraft was on a routine flight when it went down near the garrison town of Rawalpindi, apparently because of a mechanical failure.