I would like to point out that John Denver died in an airplane licensed under the category “experimental”, and it was a kitplane. Such airplanes not only carry a higher risk than commercial airlines, but also higher than the ordinary, factory-built small airplane. Denver was experienced enough as a pilot to be aware of the risks he was running, and chose to take them anyway. (Just for the record - I’ve flown airplanes in that category, too - they aren’t deathtraps, but like I said, there is an additional level of risk.)
Wiley Post was, among other things, a test pilot. As a professional pilot, and one operating in a dangeorus area at that, the odds of him dying in an airplane were very much higher than other folks, be they drivers or pilots.
Vic Morrow was not in the helicoptor that killed him. He was on the ground, filming a scene in a movie. So I think you have to take him off the “air travel is dangerous” list because he wasn’t traveling at the time, and wasn’t in the air.
Aaliyah’s plane crash was due in large part to pressure on the pilots to load too much stuff into the airplane. As a result, they never really got airborne.
Are we counting helicoptors separately, or not? Stevie Ray Vaughn would be on that one.
A big factor in Celebrity Air Crashes (is it just me, or does that sound like a Fox News Special?) is the “I gotta get there” factor, which prompts people to push forward into bad weather. Those crashes include, but are not limited to:
Jim Croce
Buddy Holly
Richie Valens
Big Bopper
Senator Wellstone
JFK, Jr.
(possibly) Governor Carnahan
I know of one pilot in my area who moderately well known rock star once tried to hire to fly him to his next gig. The weather was so bad the commercial airlines weren’t flying that day, much less smaller airplanes. Apparently Mr. Big Shot became quite belligerent, then threatening (along the lines of “I’ll talk to my friends and you’ll never get business again and be out of work”, etc.) Ended up with Mr. Rock Star screaming into the phone “You don’t understand - I gotta get there tonight” at which point my acquaintance shot back with “I’m sure that’s what Buddy Holly said just before he got on the airplane, too” Which apparently shut up Mr. Rock Star and brought the conversation to a screeching halt. Mr. Big Shot was not able to charter a plane that day and was a day late to his next gig - but while Mr. Big Shot was late, he was not the “late Mr. Big Shot”. That’s just one example of a killer attitude and the pressures that get thrown at a charter pilot. Not to mention the pressure thrown at performers. Some folks do sue when the concert doesn’t happen as scheduled, apparently not caring that sometimes things are a cancelled for a very good reason. Personally, I’d rather a favorite performer miss a date than wind up dead.