Pilot and flying enthusiast. This is the identikit of the ex-president of Chile Sebastian Piñera, owner of the Robinson R-44 "Raven II" helicopter (registration CC-PHP) which crashed yesterday afternoon in Lago Ranco, in the southern part of Chile. The politician was at the controls of the aircraft, which was carrying three other people, when it sank into Lake Ranco.

Piñera was president of Chile for two non-consecutive terms: from 2010 to 2014 and from 2018 to 2022. The State funeral will be held on Thursday 8 February in the hall of honor of the Congress in Santiago de Chile. The current President Gabriel Boric has decreed three days of national mourning. This is his message of condolence: "I want to express my deepest condolences to his family and loved ones. In particular, I address an affectionate and fraternal embrace to his wife, Cecilia Morel, to his children, Magdalena, Cecilia, Sebastián and Cristóbal, and to all Chileans who today welcome this news with regret and pain".

According to what the newspaper "Clarin" reconstructs, Piñera spent his holidays in his home in Bahía Coique, on the banks of the lake. The ex-president had gone to eat at the nearby house of an entrepreneur friend and was returning home when the accident occurred. His sister Magdalena Piñera, his entrepreneur friend Ignacio Guerrero and his son were travelling on the helicopter, all three of whom survived.

On the topic, see also the article published by AVIONEWS.