Munich air disaster

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

The Munich air disaster occurred on February 6, 1958, when Flight BE609, a British European Airways "Elizabethan" class Airspeed Ambassador charter aircraft G-ALZU 'Lord Burghley', carrying players and backroom staff of Manchester United F.C., plus a number of journalists and supporters, crashed in a blizzard on its third attempt to take off from Munich-Riem airport.

Twenty-three of the 43 passengers on board the aircraft died in the disaster.

Background

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 in 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 Red Star Belgrade, which ended in a 3-3 draw (United won the tie 5-4 on aggregate). The take off 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.

Cause

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 a problem with the engines. When a third take off was attempted, at 3:04pm, 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. 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 nosewheel 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.

The Airspeed Ambassador G-ALZU at Munich-Riem just before the accident

Despite this conclusion, the West German authorities (who were legally responsible for the state of the airport's runways) took legal action against Captain Thain, claiming he had taken-off without de-icing the wings sufficiently 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 - shown right) 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. For some reason the witnesses were not called to the German enquiry and proceedings against Thain dragged on for years. Thain, having been dismissed by BEA shortly after the accident, retired and returned to run his poultry farm in Berkshire. He died of a heart attack at the age of 54, in 1975.

Manchester United after the crash

Seven of Manchester United's players died immediately, and Duncan Edwards died from his injuries on 21 February. Two other players had to retire because of their injuries. Matt Busby was seriously injured and had to stay in hospital for some time after the crash. 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.[3] A team largely made up of reserves and youth team players beat Sheffield Wednesday 3–1 in the first match after the disaster. Poignantly, the programme for that match showed simply a blank space where each United player's name should have been.

Although the team's league results were poor they reached the final of the F.A. Cup, losing 2–0 to Bolton Wanderers. Busby resumed managerial duties the following season and eventually built a second generation of Busby Babes, including George Best, that went on to win the European Cup a decade after the disaster in 1968, beating Benfica. Crash survivors Bobby Charlton and Bill Foulkes were two of the other players who lined up in that team.

Tributes

Music

  • The English folk band The Spinners released a song about the disaster, titled The Flowers of Manchester, in 1962.
  • The Mancunian 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. The title track pays tribute to those who lost their lives.

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 United player who had not travelled to Belgrade because of injury, 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 Tuesday 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 Kaunas S.Dariaus ir S.Girėno airport using an ex-Soviet plane.

Victims

Manchester United players

Other victims

Survivors

Manchester United players

Still living:

Other survivors

  • Matt Busby - Team manager
  • Frank Taylor - Journalist
  • James Thain - Captain
  • George (Bill) Rodgers - Radio officer

Still living:

  • Peter Howard - Photographer
  • Ted Ellyard - Photographer
  • Mrs Vera Lukic and baby daughter - 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
  • Mr N Tomasevic - Passenger
  • Rosemary Cheverton - Stewardess
  • Margaret Bellis - Stewardess

See also

External links

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

Notes

  1. ^ Manchester United — The Betrayal of a Legend 39.
  2. ^ Manchester United — The Betrayal of a Legend 46.
  3. ^ Murphy had not travelled to Belgrade as was away managing the Welsh national team at the time.
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