Munich air disaster

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This article is about the crash of the Manchester United aircraft. For the 1960 accident, see Munich air accident (1960).

**British European Airways Flight 609**
Summary
Date	1958-02-06
Type	Take-off failure
Site	Munich, West Germany
Passengers	40
Crew	4
Injuries	21
Fatalities	23
Survivors	21
Aircraft type	Airspeed AS-57 Ambassador
Aircraft name	Lord Burghley
Operator	British European Airways
Tail number	G-ALZU
Destination	Manchester Airport, UK

The Munich air disaster took place on 6 February 1958, when British European Airways Flight 609 crashed on its third attempt to take off from a slush-covered runway at the Munich-Riem airport in Munich, West Germany. On board the plane was the Manchester United football team, nicknamed the "Busby Babes", along with a number of supporters and journalists. 23 of the 44 passengers on board the aircraft died in the disaster.

The charter flight, destined for Manchester Airport was operated by British European Airways (BEA) using an "Elizabethan" class Airspeed Ambassador aircraft G-ALZU Lord Burghley.

[edit] Background

The Airspeed Ambassador G-ALZU at Riem airport before take-off.

The European Cup had been contested since 1955, although no English club took part in the very first tournament on account of Football League rules. Manchester United entered the 1956-57 tournament and reached the semi-finals, being knocked out by eventual winners Real Madrid; they were thus one of the favourites for the 1957-58 tournament. Domestic league matches were played on Saturdays and European matches were played midweek, so although air travel was risky at the time, it was the only practical choice if United were to fulfil their league fixtures.^[1] Their team was known as the "Busby Babes", a reference to their manager Matt Busby and to the average age of the players, which was unusually young.

The club had chartered an aeroplane to fly them home from their European Cup match against the Yugoslavian team Crvena Zvezda (Red Star Belgrade), which ended in a 3-3 draw (United won the tie 5-4 on aggregate). The takeoff from Belgrade was delayed for an hour as the United player Johnny Berry had lost his passport,^[2] then the plane made a scheduled stop in Munich to refuel.

[edit] The crash

The Airspeed Ambassador G-ALZU burning at Munich.

Captain James Thain, the pilot, tried to take off twice, but both attempts were aborted due to engine surging. When a third take off was attempted, at 3:04 pm, the plane failed to gain adequate height and crashed into the fence surrounding the airport and then into a house, which was unoccupied at the time. The port wing and part of the tail was torn off. The house caught fire. The left side of the cockpit hit a tree. The right side of the fuselage hit a wooden hut, inside which was a truck filled with tyres and fuel, which exploded.^[3]

Although the crash was originally blamed on pilot error, it was subsequently found to have been caused by the build-up of slush towards the ends of the runway, causing deceleration of the aircraft and preventing safe flying speed from being attained. During the take off, the aircraft had attained a speed of 117 kt (217 km/h) but on entering the slush speed dropped to 105 kt (194 km/h), too slow for flight, with not enough runway remaining to abort the take off. Aircraft with tail-wheel undercarriages had not been greatly affected by slush, due to the geometry of these undercarriages in relation to the aircraft's centre of gravity, but newer types, such as the Ambassador, with nose wheel landing-gear and the main wheels behind the centre of gravity, were found to be vulnerable. The accident resulted in the instigation of operating limits for the amount of slush build-up permitted on runways.

American newsreel footage reporting the crash.

Despite this conclusion, the German airport authorities (who were legally responsible for the state of the airport's runways, but generally not aware of the then unknown danger of slush on runways for aircraft like the Ambassador) took legal action against Captain Thain, who had survived the crash, claiming he had taken off without deicing the wings and that responsibility for the accident was his alone, despite several witnesses stating that this was not so. The basis of the German authorities' case relied on a photograph of the aircraft (published in several newspapers) taken shortly before take off, that appeared to show snow on the upper wing surfaces. When the original negative was examined, however, no snow or ice could be seen, the 'snow' having been due to the published pictures being produced from a copy negative. The witnesses were not called to the German inquiry and proceedings against Thain dragged on until 1968, when he was finally cleared of any responsibility for the crash. As the official cause, British authorities recorded a build-up of melting snow on the runway which prevented the Elizabethan from reaching the required take-off speed. Thain, having been dismissed by BEA shortly after the accident and never reengaged, retired and returned to run his poultry farm in Berkshire. He died of a heart attack at the age of 53, in 1975.

[edit] Fatalities

A plaque at Old Trafford Football Ground in memory of the Munich air disaster.

[edit] Manchester United players

Geoff Bent
Roger Byrne
Eddie Colman
Duncan Edwards (survived the crash, but died in hospital 15 days later)
Mark Jones
David Pegg
Tommy Taylor
Liam 'Billy' Whelan

[edit] Manchester United staff

Walter Crickmer, club secretary.
Bert Whalley, chief coach.
Tom Curry, trainer.

[edit] Journalists

Alf Clarke, Manchester Evening Chronicle.
Don Davies, Manchester Guardian.
George Follows, Daily Herald.
Tom Jackson, Manchester Evening News.
Archie Ledbrooke, Daily Mirror.
Henry Rose, Daily Express.
Eric Thompson, Daily Mail.
Frank Swift, News of the World (also former England and Manchester City goalkeeper).

[edit] Crew members and other passengers

Captain Kenneth "Ken" Rayment, the British co-pilot who survived the crash but suffered multiple injuries and died three weeks later as a result of brain damage. He was one of two people who died in hospital after being injured in the crash.
Tom Cable, Steward.
Bela Miklos, travel agent.
Willie Satinoff, supporter, racecourse owner and close friend of Matt Busby.

[edit] Survivors

[edit] Manchester United players

Johnny Berry (never played again, died 1994)
Jackie Blanchflower (never played again, died 1998)
Bobby Charlton
Bill Foulkes
Harry Gregg
Kenny Morgans
Albert Scanlon
Dennis Viollet (died 1999)
Ray Wood (died 2002)

[edit] Other survivors

[edit] Now deceased

Matt Busby, team manager (died 1994).
Frank Taylor, journalist (died 2002).
James Thain, captain (died 1975).
George (Bill) Rodgers, radio officer (died 1997).
Peter Howard, photographer (died 1996).
Margaret Bellis, stewardess (died 1998).
Ted Ellyard, telegraphist (died 1964).

[edit] Still alive as of March 2008

Vera Lukić and baby daughter Vesna, passengers saved by Manchester United player Harry Gregg. At the time of the accident, she was pregnant with her son Zoran, who is also still alive.^[4]
Mrs Bela Miklos, wife of Bela Miklos, the travel agent who arranged the trip (he died in the crash).
Nebojsa Bato Tomašević, passenger.
Rosemary Blakeley (née Cheverton), stewardess.^[5]

[edit] Manchester United after the crash

Seven of Manchester United's players died immediately, and Duncan Edwards died from his injuries on 21 February at the Rechts der Isar Hospital in Munich. Johnny Berry and Jackie Blanchflower were both injured so severely that they never played again.

Matt Busby was seriously injured and had to stay in hospital for two months after the crash, and was read his last rites twice. There was speculation that the club would fold, but a threadbare United team completed the 1957-1958 season, with United's coach Jimmy Murphy standing in as manager; he had not travelled to Belgrade as he was away managing the Welsh national team at the time. A team largely made up of reserve and youth team players beat Sheffield Wednesday 3–0 in the first match after the disaster. The programme for that match showed simply a blank space where each United player's name should have been.

United only won one league game after the crash, causing their title challenge to collapse and push them down to ninth place in the league, but they reached the final of the FA Cup, losing 2–0 to Bolton Wanderers. Busby resumed managerial duties the next season (1958-1959) and eventually built a second generation of Busby Babes, including George Best and Denis Law, that ten years later won the European Cup in 1968, beating Benfica. Crash survivors Bobby Charlton and Bill Foulkes were two of the other players who lined up in that team.

[edit] Memorials

Commemorative plaque at Old Trafford

The first three memorials at Old Trafford were unveiled on 25 February 1960. Placed above the entrance to the Director's Box the plaque featured a supporter and a player with their heads bowed solemnly looking down onto a wreath, underneath of which was a football bearing the date 1958 and beneath this was the pitch with the names of the dead inscribed. A bronze plaque in memory of eight journalists was placed into the Press Box and lastly the simple clock was erected at the front of the stadium. When building work began a decade later the plaque could not be safely moved and was left in situ to be walled up inside the new construction. The club claims to possess this pitch aspect of this first memorial in storage, and also claims to be planning its placement in the on site museum. The manufacturers of the plaque actually made a second copy, but this was destroyed when the firm went out of business in 1983.

The second plaque, similar but smaller, was installed in 1976 and a third plaque is on the front facade of the ground and was installed in 1996. The clock has moved but is still visible and the press box plaque was stolen and replaced with a replica shortly afterwards.

There are also two memorials in Germany. In the village of Kirchtrudering, there is a small wooden trough memorial with the inscription: "In the memory of the victims of the air disaster of 6.2.1958 including members of the football team of Manchester United as well as all the victims from the municipality of Trudering".

In September 2004, in the vicinity of Munich Airport, a granite memorial was unveiled which reads in both English and German: "In memory of those who lost their lives here in the Munich air disaster on the 6th February 1958". Underneath is a plaque expressing United's gratitude to the municipality of Munich and its people.

Old Trafford's Munich Tunnel, unveiled in 2008 on the 50th anniversary of the disaster.

A memorial service was also held at Old Trafford on 6 February 2008. At the conclusion of the service the surviving members of the 1958 team unveiled the Munich Memorial Tunnel in Old Trafford's south stand which traces the history of the Busby Babes through plaques on the wall and features an eternal flame.

On 6 February 2008, the England national football team took on Switzerland at Wembley Stadium. Before the game, pictures of the players who lost their lives at Munich were displayed on big screens, and England players wore black armbands. Originally, a minute's silence was not to have been observed on the day, due to the Football Association's fears that the silence would not be respected by fans of Manchester United's rivals.^[6] However, they then agreed that a minute's silence should be held. In the event it was generally well-observed, but a small number of supporters made whistles and cat-calls and the referee cut the silence short after less than 30 seconds.^[7] This led to speculation by the media as to whether the silence would be able to be completed at Old Trafford.

Commemorative scarves laid out on the back of every seat prior to the game.

On 10 February 2008, at the derby match between Manchester United and Manchester City at Old Trafford, both teams were led onto the pitch by a lone bagpiper, and the managers Alex Ferguson and Sven-Goran Eriksson each laid a wreath in the centre circle. This was followed by a minute silence which, despite previous concerns, was respected by all the fans. ^[8] United played in 1950s-style strips with no advertising or players names and numbered 1-11; whilst City removed shirt manufacturers and sponsors logos from their kit; both teams wore black armbands in tribute to the victims of the Munich disaster. Manchester City won 2-1 thanks to first half goals from Darius Vassell and debutant Benjani. Fans in attendance were given commemorative scarves which were held up during the silence and the match programme featured a 26-page booklet on the victims of the crash and a reprint of the first home programme after the match (vs. Sheffield Wednesday).

[edit] Tributes

[edit] Music

The Liverpool folk band The Spinners released a song about the disaster, titled "The Flowers of Manchester", in 1962.
The Manchester-born singer Morrissey released a song called "Munich Air Disaster, 1958" (as a b-side to "Irish Blood, English Heart") in 2004, and performed it live several times that year. It later appeared on his live album Live at Earls Court in 2005.
The English band The Futureheads named their album News and Tributes in honour of the disaster (using a headline from the Daily Mirror). The title track pays tribute to those who lost their lives including the verse,

"Cut down in their prime,

In silence, on that day,

February 58, they got what they need,

From Belgrade and back home to sleep"

British pop/folk artist Iain Matthews recorded an a cappella song called "Busby's Babes" about his youthful reaction to the tragedy.

[edit] Film

Barry Navidi is currently working on a script for a Hollywood film about the Munich air crash. The Manchester Evening News (April 22, 2005) reported that the survivors had not been consulted and were concerned about how accurate the film would be.

Bill Foulkes was quoted as saying, "If the film was made properly and was respectful to those who perished, it could be a tribute to the Busby Babes which could be seen for generations to come. And those great players who died that day deserve to be remembered. But what worries me is that none of the survivors have been contacted by the film-makers. And without that first hand knowledge, I don't believe it is possible to make a film like this with any degree of accuracy."

Harry Gregg said, "I am sure all of us who were lucky enough to survive the crash have the right to know how we are going to be depicted in the film. Even more important is what the film might say about our team-mates who died that day. They left behind wives and children who are still alive and people over in Hollywood need to take their feelings into consideration before making a film like this."

John Doherty, a former United player who had left United only a few months earlier, was less restrained: "I think it's a terrible idea. It couldn't possibly be a tribute to the Busby Babes, because whoever is making the film doesn't know the people involved. Unless you were there, how could you know what conversations took place? ... As far as I'm concerned, the whole thing stinks. The only reason anyone would want to make a film like this is to make money."

[edit] Television

On 10 January 2006, the BBC showed a drama/documentary retelling the story in the series Surviving Disaster. Its end credits contained many Lithuanian names, and the plane's airspeed indicator was labelled with the Russian word СКОРОСТЬ ("speed"); the film was supposedly made in Lithuania's S. Darius and S. Girėnas Airport using an ex-Soviet plane.^{[citation needed]}

On 1 February 1998, ITV aired a documentary - Munich: End of a Dream - to mark the 40th anniversary of the tragedy. It consisted of three episodes.

The first episode told the story of Matt Busby's ground-breaking youth scheme in which he replaced older players with youth team products, rather than follow the conventional approach of signing established players from rival teams, and the success of the scheme which led to two successive Football League titles and an FA Cup final appearance.

The second episode told of United's fortunes in the European Cup, including their run to the semi-finals of the competition in their first season (1956-57).

The third episode was centred around United's European Cup quarter-final triumph over Red Star Belgrade, the air crash, the aftermath of the tragedy and the death of Duncan Edwards two weeks after the crash.

Veteran supporters Brian Hughes and Billy Clynes contributed to the program, along with Gerda Thiel - an elderly German nurse who had treated some of the injured players. Several crash survivors also made contributions to the documentary, including Sir Bobby Charlton, Ray Wood (who died in 2002), Bill Foulkes and Albert Scanlon. Frank Taylor (who also died in 2002), the only journalist to survive the crash, also made a contribution, as did Irene Beevers (the sister of crash victim David Pegg). Also making a contribution was Ruby Thain, the elderly widow of pilot James Thain.

On 6 February 2008, the 50th anniversary of the crash, several television channels showed programmes about it.

UKTV History aired the BBC co-produced drama documentary Surviving Disaster to mark the 50th anniversary of the tragedy. Information can be found here ^[9]
MUTV aired a documentary, called Munich Forever Remembered.
The BBC showed as part of its One Life series a documentary following United goalkeeper Harry Gregg retracing his route from England to Belgrade to Munich. He met and talked with some of the first rescuers who had arrived on the scene. He also met Vera Lukić, the pregnant mother whom he had rescued and Zoran, the son she had two months later.

[edit] See also

History of Manchester United F.C. (1945-1969)
List of notable accidents and incidents on commercial aircraft
An American military aircraft crashed in central Munich in 1960
The 1970 crash of Southern Airways Flight 932 killed a group of footballers from Marshall University
The Torino F.C. side known as Il Grande Torino that dominated post-war Italian football was lost in an air crash at Superga in 1949
The 1989 crash of Surinam Airways Flight PY764 killed a group of Surinamese players known as "The Colorful 11", whose members played professional football in the Netherlands
18 members of the Zambia national football team died in a 1993 air crash
In 1987, the entire roster of the Alianza Lima team died in an air crash

[edit] References

Air Disasters by Stanley Stewart - Arrow Books (UK) 1986/89 - ISBN 0-09-956200-6
Manchester United — The Betrayal of a Legend by Michael Crick and David Smith - Pan Books 1990 - ISBN 0-330-31440-8
Airspeed's elegant Ambassador - Part 3 by Don Middleton - Aeroplane Monthly - April 1982 issue