The preliminary report did not indicate the exact cause of the crash, stating that the plane had maintained a constant course.

CNN: Pilot training blamed for Bali airliner crash

Colleagues--including his main rival, India's future Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru--accepted with some relief the reports that he had died in a plane crash.

CNN: ASIANOW - TIME Asia

Mr Mondale, former vice-president to Jimmy Carter, had stepped in at the last minute after the death of the incumbent, Paul Wellstone, in a plane crash on October 25th.

ECONOMIST: Bush triumphs | The