CAMARATE — 1980 · Suspicious Death
The Camarate Plane Crash
On the evening of 4 December 1980, a small Cessna due to fly Prime Minister Francisco Sá Carneiro and Defence Minister Adelino Amaro da Costa to Porto crashed into a residential area of Camarate shortly after take-off from Lisbon airport, killing all seven people on board. Early technical inquiries blamed fuel problems and pilot error. Families and the public never dropped suspicions of sabotage, however, and the eighth of ten parliamentary commissions concluded in 2004 that an explosive device placed under the cockpit floor had caused the crash. A private prosecution brought by relatives was time-barred and no one was ever tried. Whether it was an accident or an assassination is still debated in Portugal.
- Date
- 1980
- Place
- Lisbon, Portugal, Camarate, PT
- Category
- Suspicious Death
- Case Status
- Unsolved
- Coordinates
- 38.8036, -9.1283 ↗
Timeline of Events
- 4 December 1980The plane carrying the Prime Minister and Defence Minister crashed in Camarate; seven died.
- 1981–1983Official inquiries blamed technical causes; the criminal inquiry was suspended.
- 1990sParliamentary commissions resumed; a private prosecution was time-barred.
- December 2004The eighth parliamentary commission concluded an explosive device was on board.
- 2013A tenth commission re-examined possible links.
Sources
- Wikipedia — 1980 Camarate plane crash en.wikipedia.org ↗
- WSWS — Portugal: inquiry concludes bomb killed Prime Minister Carneiro in 1980 wsws.org ↗
- Wikipedia
- World Socialist Web Site
Source grade A: several independent sources, at least one an official record or reference work. If you spot a mistake or something missing, report it with "Suggest a correction" in the app.
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🕯️ This record was prepared with respect, in memory of those who lost their lives.