Munich air disaster

British European Airways Flight 609

Occurrence
Date	1958-02-06
Summary	Runway Overrun
Site	Munich, Germany
Aircraft type	Airspeed AS-57 Ambassador
Operator	British European Airways
Registration	G-ALZU
Passengers	40
Crew	4
Fatalities	23
Injuries	21
Survivors	21

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

The Munich air disaster took place on 6 February 1958, when British European Airways Flight 609 crashed on its third attempt to takeoff 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. Twenty-three of the 44 passengers on board the aircraft died in the disaster.

The flight was operated by British European Airways (BEA) as an "Elizabethan" class Airspeed Ambassador charter aircraft G-ALZU Lord Burghley.

Background

A plaque at Old Trafford Football Ground remembering the Munich air disaster

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. 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, then the plane made a scheduled stop in Munich to refuel.

The crash

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, then into a house, which was unoccupied at the time.

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.

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.

Memorials

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.

In December 2007, it was announced that Manchester United would wear a replica of their 1958 kit in the Manchester derby in February 2008 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Munich air disaster. The kit will feature no sponsors or squad numbers - numbered instead simply 1 to 11 in the old style - and will not be available to buy before or after the match. Manchester City will also wear a special kit for the game, with the addition of black armbands and the removal of their sponsor's branding. On 6 February 2008, the England national football team takes on Switzerland at Wembley Stadium. Before the game, images of the players who lost their lives at Munich will be displayed on big screens, and England players will wear black armbands. However, a minute's silence will not be observed on the day; this is rumoured to be because of the Football Association's fears that the silence would not be respected by fans of Manchester United's rivals.

Tributes

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.

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."

Television

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

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 as well as 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 and final 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 made contributions 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.

Victims

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

Other victims

• Walter Crickmer - Club secretary
• Bert Whalley - Chief coach
• Tom Curry - Trainer
• Alf Clarke - Journalist, Manchester Evening Chronicle
• Don Davies - Journalist, Manchester Guardian
• George Follows - Journalist, Daily Herald
• Tom Jackson - Journalist, Manchester Evening News
• Archie Ledbrooke - Journalist, Daily Mirror
• Henry Rose - Journalist, Daily Express
• Eric Thompson - Journalist, Daily Mail
• Frank Swift - Journalist, News of the World (also former England and Manchester City goalkeeper)
• Captain Kenneth "Ken" Rayment - 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.
• Bela Miklos - Travel agent
• Willie Satinoff - Supporter, racecourse owner and close friend of Matt Busby
• Tom Cable - Steward

Survivors

Manchester United players

• Johnny Berry (died in 1994)
• Jackie Blanchflower (died in 1998)
• Dennis Viollet (died in 1999)
• Ray Wood (died in 2002)

Still Alive:

• Bobby Charlton
• Bill Foulkes
• Harry Gregg
• Kenny Morgans
• Albert Scanlon

Other survivors

• Matt Busby - Team manager (died in 1994)
• Frank Taylor - Journalist (died in 2002)
• James Thain - Captain (died in 1975)
• George (Bill) Rodgers - Radio officer (death date unknown)
• Peter Howard - Photographer (died in 1996)

Still Alive:

• Ted Ellyard - Photographer
• Vera Lukić and baby daughter Venona - Passengers (saved by Manchester United player Harry Gregg)
• Mrs Miklos - Wife of Bela Miklos, the travel agent that arranged trip and died in the crash
• N Tomašević - Passenger
• Rosemary Cheverton - Stewardess
• Margaret Bellis - Stewardess

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 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

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

External links

• United-Front.org a tribute site
• Munich58.co.uk a tribute site
• The Busby Babes
• The Munich Air Disaster

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