Plane crash in Munich on February 6, 1958
Material from Wikipedia the free encyclopedia
The current version of the page has not yet been checked by experienced participants and may differ significantly from the version checked on November 29, 2016; checks require 10 edits.
The current version of the page has not yet been checked by experienced participants and may differ significantly from the version checked on November 29, 2016; checks require 10 edits.
Go to: navigation, Search
BEA Flight 609
Munich plane crash
Crash site General information Date February 6, 1958
Time 15: 03 GMT
Character Rolling out of the runway
The reason is an unsuccessful takeoff attempt
Location 300 m from the runway of Munich airport Rome, Munich (Germany)
Coordinates 48°07'34" s.
w.
11°40'39" v. d. / 48.1261361° s.
w.
11.6777722° v. d. / 48.1261361; 11.6777722 (G) (O) (I)Coordinates: 48°07'34" s.
w.
11°40'39" v. d. / 48.1261361° s.
w.
11.6777722° v. d. / 48.1261361; 11.6777722 (G) (O) (I)
The dead 23
Wounded 19
Aircraft
British Airspeed AS.57 Ambassador, similar to the one that crashed
Airspeed AS.57 Ambassador Model
The name of the aircraft is Lord Burghley
British European Airwaysruen (BEA)
Departure point Belgrade (Yugoslavia)
Stops on the way Munich Rome, Munich (Germany)
Destination Manchester (United Kingdom)
Flight BE609
Tail number G ALZU
Release date April 1950
Passengers 40
Crew 6
There are 21 survivors
Images on Wikimedia Commons
The Munich Air Crash of February 6, 1958 was an aviation accident that occurred on February 6, 1958 at the Munich Rome Airport (West Germany).
The Airspeed AS.
57 Ambassador of the British airline British European Airways (BEA), flying BE609 on the route Belgrade—Munich—Manchester, crashed after the third attempt to take off at Munich airport.
On board were the players of the English football club "Manchester United", as well as several coaches, fans and journalists.
Of the 44 people on board, 23 were killed and 19 were injured.
The wounded were taken to a Munich hospital.
The team was returning home from Belgrade after the European Champions Cup match, but the plane made a stop in Munich for refueling.
The capacity of the aircraft's fuel tanks did not allow for a direct flight from Belgrade to Manchester.
After refueling the aircraft, the pilots made two attempts to take off, but interrupted both due to increased fluctuations in the left engine.
Not wanting to fall far behind the schedule, the crew commander refused to stay in Munich for the night, deciding to make a third attempt to take off.
By the time of the third attempt to take off, a heavy snowfall began, which caused a lot of snow porridge to accumulate near the end of the runway.
After entering it, the liner lost the speed necessary for taking off, broke through the fence at the end of the runway and crashed with the left wing into a house standing nearby.
Of the 44 people on the plane, 21 died instantly, and many others lost consciousness.
Fearing a possible explosion of jet fuel, the FAC ordered the remaining passengers and crew members to get out of the plane and move to a safe distance.
Despite this, Manchester United goalkeeper Harry Gregg helped the wounded to get out.
The management of the Munich—Rome airport initially declared the commander of flight 609, James Thane, guilty of the crash, who allegedly started taking off without first taking care of removing ice from the wings of the aircraft, although this was at odds with the testimony of witnesses.
It was later established that the cause of the crash was the accumulation of snow porridge near the end of the runway, which is why the plane could not gain the necessary speed for takeoff.
In 1968, 10 years after the disaster, James Thane was fully acquitted.
Content
1 Aircraft 2 Crew 3 Previous events 4 Disaster 5 Dead 5.1 Crew members 5.2 Passengers
6 Survivors 6.1 Crew members 6.2 Passengers
7 Investigation 8 Consequences of the disaster 9 Cultural aspects 10 See also 11 Notes 11.1 Comments 11.2 Sources
12 References 13 Literature
Airplane[edit / edit wiki text]
The Airspeed AS.
57 Ambassador (registration number G ALZU, serial 5217) was released in 1950.
On April 5 of the same year, it was transferred to British European Airways (BEA), in which it received the name Lord Burghley.
Equipped with two Bristol Centaurus 661 screw engines.
On the day of the disaster, he flew 6363 hours[1].
The crew[edit / edit wiki text]
The crew of flight BE609 was as follows:
The commander of the aircraft (FAC) is 36 year old James Thain.
An experienced pilot, served in the Royal Air Force, worked for the BEA airline for 5 years (since 1952).
I flew 7337 hours.
The co pilot is 36 year old Kenneth Gordon Rayment.
An experienced pilot, he worked for the BEA airline for 12 years (since 1945), in the position of FAC — since 1953.
He operated Airspeed Consul, C 47, Vickers Viking and Vickers Viscount aircraft.
I flew 8463 hours.
The radio operator is 35 year old George William Rogers.
Three flight attendants worked in the cabin of the aircraft:
William Thomas Cable, 41 years old.
Margaret Ursula Bellis, 36 years old.
Rosemary Cheverton, 26 years old.
Previous events[edit / edit wiki text]
In April 1955, UEFA founded the European Champions Cup, a tournament for football clubs that became champions in countries within the UEFA zone.
The first draw of the tournament was held in the 1955/56 season[2].
However, the secretary of the Football League of England, Alan Hardaker, banned the current champion of England, Chelsea London, from taking part in this tournament, citing "concern for the interests of English football and football in general" [3].
The following season, Manchester United became the champion of England, whose head coach was Matt Busby.
The Football League again denied the English champion the right to participate in the European Champions Cup, but Busby and Harold Hardman (chairman of Manchester United), with the support of the chairman of the Football Association Stanley Rose, were able to overcome the ban of the Football League.
United became the first English club to play in a European football tournament[4].
"The Busby Kids" in 1955
Manchester United took advantage of the opportunity.
The team of "Busby kids" (which received such a nickname because of the youth of the players) reached the semi finals of the 1956/57 draw, in which they lost to the future winner of the tournament, Real Madrid.
Having won the title in England for the second time in a row, Manchester United secured their qualification for next season's European Champions Cup season 1957/58.
Matches in the English Premier League took place on Saturdays and European matches were played mid week, so the club had to travel by air in order to catch all the matches, although air travel at a time fall into the category of high risk[5].
If the club had refused to fly, the combination of performances in the English championship and in Europe would have been complicated, and Alan Hardaker's fears would have been justified[4].
"Busby Kids" before the return match with "Crvena Zvezda" (the last match before the disaster)
After winning in the preliminary round over Shamrock Rovers Dublin (Ireland) and in the first round over Dukla Prague (Czechoslovakia), Manchester United reached the quarterfinals, where they met with Crvena Zvezda Belgrade (Yugoslavia).
In the first match at Old Trafford on January 21, 1958, the Red Devils won with a score of 2: 1. The second leg was on February 5 in Yugoslavia.
After returning from Prague after the match with Dukla in the previous round, the team could not return to Manchester by direct flight due to heavy fog over Manchester, so they had to fly to Amsterdam, then take the ferry from Hook of Holland to Harwich, and then take the train to Manchester.
Due to such a long journey, the players did not have time to recover properly and played their next league match (1-1) against Birmingham at St. Andrews Stadium[6].
In order not to miss matches in the First Division and at the same time not to undertake such long trips anymore, the club ordered a charter flight BE609 from Manchester to Belgrade for the return match against Crvena Zvezda[7] from British European Airways (BEA).
The match itself ended with a score of 3:3, but on the sum of two matches (5:4), Manchester United reached the semifinals[8].
The flight from Belgrade was postponed for an hour, as United player Johnny Berry lost his passport[9].
After departure from Belgrade, the plane made a scheduled stop in Munich for refueling[10], landing at Munich airport at 13: 15 GMT. [11]
Disaster[edit / edit wiki text]
FAC James Thane took off on an Airspeed AS.57 Ambassador of the Elizabethan class on board G ALZU to Belgrade, but on the way back he handed over control to co pilot Kenneth Gordon Rayment[12].
At 14:19[* 1], the control tower of Munich airport reported that the plane was ready for departure, and gave permission to take off at 14:31[13].
However, the co pilot canceled the take off, as the commander noticed fluctuations in the left engine pressure gauge when the aircraft reached full power, as well as unusual engine sounds during acceleration[14].
3 minutes later, at 14: 34, a second attempt was made to take off, but after 40 seconds, while the plane was still on the ground, it was also canceled[15].
The reason for unsuccessful take off attempts was called excessive engine acceleration due to excessive over enrichment of the fuel mixture, which was a common problem for Elizabethan class aircraft[14].
After the second unsuccessful take off attempt, all passengers left the plane, settling in the rest area of the airport[16].
By that time, the weather conditions had worsened, heavy snow began to fall, and many passengers thought that the flight would be canceled.
So, the United player Duncan Edwards even sent a telegram to his landlady in Manchester with the following content: "All flights are canceled, I'm leaving tomorrow.
Duncan"[17].
KVS informed the station engineer Bill Black about a problem with increased vibrations in the left engine.
Black said that if the option of slowly opening the throttles does not work, it remains only to leave the plane overnight for engine repairs.
The commander did not want to get out of the planned schedule and decided to make another attempt to take off, suggesting opening the throttles even slower.
This meant that the aircraft might not reach the speed required for takeoff until the end of the runway length.
However, the FAC did not consider this a problem, since the length of the runway was about 2 kilometers, which seemed quite sufficient.
In this regard, even despite the snowfall, passengers were asked to board the plane only 15 minutes after they left it[18].
Several players had almost no experience of air travel, especially Liam Whelan, who said just before takeoff: It may be death, but I'm ready for it.
Other players, including Duncan Edwards, Tommy Taylor, Mark Jones, Eddie Coleman and Frank Swift, moved to the back of the plane, believing that it was safer there[10].
When all the passengers returned on board, the FAC and the co pilot made a third attempt to take off; at 14: 56, the plane began moving along the runway[19].
At 14:59, flight 609 reached the waiting point, where it received permission to taxi for an executive start[20].
After the last check of the instruments in the cockpit at 15: 02, a message was received that the take off permit expires at 15:04[21].
After a short discussion, the pilots decided to try to take off, but carefully monitor the readings of the instruments for the presence of fluctuations in the engines.
At 15:03, they contacted the control tower, informing them of their decision[21].
Play a media file
American newsreel footage depicting the tragedy
The co pilot opened the throttles slowly, as it was decided, and released the brakes; the plane began to gain speed, and the radio operator reported this to the control tower[22].
Flight 609 was accelerating, scattering snow porridge on the runway, the commander reported exceeding the speed by 18 km/h[22].
At a speed of 157 km/h, fluctuations in the left side engine began again, and Thane minimally pulled the engine throttle, after which he carefully pushed it forward[22].
When the plane reached a speed of 217 km / h, the commander announced the achievement of the speed "V1", that is, the speed after which the cancellation of take off becomes unsafe, and the co pilot was waiting for the announcement of the achievement of the speed" V2 "(220 km/h), the minimum required for the take off of the"Ambassador" [23].
However, when the FAC looked at the speed indicator, expecting it to increase, he noticed that it fluctuated around 217 km/h, after which the plane flew into the untouched virgin snow in the last third of the runway with a thickness of up to 5 centimeters of snow cover (the airfield services of Munich airport did not clear the entire strip of snow).
As a result, the speed of the aircraft suddenly dropped to 207, and then to 194 km/h[24].
The co pilot shouted: God, we canot![24], and the commander looked out to see what was right ahead[25].
The liner swept to the end of the runway, making an attempt to take off, then pi the lots lost control.
The plane rammed the airport fence and about 300 meters from the end of the runway crashed into a house where a family of six people lived[26].
The father and the eldest daughter were not in the house at that moment, but there was a mother and three children in the house, who barely managed to jump out into the street, as the house caught fire[27].
The left wing and part of the tail were torn off from the impact of Flight 609, after which the left part of the cockpit crashed into a tree[27].
The right side of the plane crashed into a wooden hangar, in which there was a truck with fuel, which exploded[28].
21 people died on the spot.
Seeing the flames around the cockpit, the FAC was afraid of an explosion of the aircraft and ordered an immediate evacuation.
Flight attendants Rosemary Cheverton and Margaret Ursula Bellis were the first to get out of the emergency hatch in the cabin, followed by the flight attendant[29].
The FAC shouted to the co pilot to get out of the pilot's seat, but he was trapped in the seat by the crumpled fuselage.
He told the commander to get out without him and the FAC also got out through the emergency hatch[29].
When he got out, he saw flames near the right wing of the plane, which still had a whole fuel tank with 2,300 liters of fuel in it.
He ordered the crew to move away from the plane to a safe distance, and he returned to the plane to take two fire extinguishers, assuring the co pilot that he would return for it as soon as he extinguished the fire[29].
Meanwhile, in the passenger cabin, Manchester United goalkeeper Harry Gregg, having regained consciousness, decided that he was dead[30].
He felt that blood was flowing down his face and did not dare to raise [his] hand. [He]
thought that the upper part of [his] head was cut off, like a hard boiled egg [31].
A beam of light was coming into the cockpit directly above him, so Gregg went to him and kicked a hole in the fuselage, enough to get out.
The dead[edit / edit wiki text]
Crew members[edit / edit wiki text]
Kenneth Gordon Rayment, co pilot (survived the crash, but died in hospital 6 weeks later (March 15) as a result of a brain injury) William Thomas Cable, flight attendant
Passengers[edit / edit wiki text]
A memorial plaque at the Old Trafford stadium dedicated to the memory of the fallen football players in 1958
Munich Clock, southeast corner of Old Trafford
Manchester United players
Geoff Bent (eng. Geoff Bent) Roger Byrne (eng. Roger Byrne) Eddie Colman (Eng. Eddie Colman) Duncan Edwards (eng. Duncan Edwards) (survived the crash, but died of injuries in hospital 15 days later (February 21)) Mark Jones David Pegg (eng. David Pegg) Tommy Taylor (eng. Tommy Taylor) Liam Whelan
Manchester United Coaching Staff
Walter Crickmer, secretary of the Tom Curry Club Tom Curry), coach Bert Whalley (English Bert Whalley), senior coach
Journalists
Alf Clarke," Manchester Evening Chronicle " Donny Davies," Manchester Guardian "George Follows," Daily Herald " Tom Jackson (eng. Tom Jackson), "Manchester Evening News" Archie Ledbrooke, "Daily Mirror" Henry Rose, "Daily Express" Frank Swift, " News of the World "(former England player and goalkeeper of Manchester City; died on the way to hospital) Eric Thompson, Daily Mail
Other passengers
Bela Miklos (Serbo Croatian Bela Miklos), travel agent Willie Satinoff, fan, racetrack owner and close friend of Matt Busby
Survivors[edit / edit wiki text]
The " Munich Tunnel "of the Old Trafford stadium, opened in 2008 on the 50th anniversary of the disaster
Crew members[edit / edit wiki text]
Margaret Ursula Bellis, flight attendant (died 1998)[32] Rosemary Cheverton, flight attendant George William Rogers, flight attendant (died 1997)[33] James Thain, crew commander (died 1975)[34]
Passengers[edit / edit wiki text]
Manchester United FC Players
Johnny Berry (no longer played football, died in 1994)[35] Jackie Blanchflower (Jackie Blanchflower) (no longer played football, died in 1998)[36] Bobby Charlton Bill Foulkes (died in 2013)[37] Harry Gregg (eng. Harry Gregg) Kenny Morgans (eng. Kenny Morgans) (died in 2012)[38] Albert Scanlon (died in 2009)[39] Dennis Viollet (died in 1999)[40] Ray Wood (died in 2002)[41]
Coaching staff of Manchester United FC
Matt Busby, head coach (died 1994)[42]
Journalists and photographers
Ted Elliard (eng. Ted Ellyard), telegraphist for the Daily Mail (died 1964) Peter Howard, photographer for the Daily Mail (died 1996) Frank Taylor, reporter for the News Chronicle (died 2002)[43]
Other passengers
Vera Lukic (Serbo Croatian Vera Lukić) and her little daughter Vesna.
They were saved by United player Harry Gregg.
Vera Lukic was pregnant at the time of the disaster, but the fetus was not damaged, and the woman gave birth to a son, who was named Zoran [44] Eleanor Miklos, the wife of Bela Miklos Nebojsa Bato Tomasevic (Serbo Croatian. Nebojša Bato Tomašević), Yugoslav diplomat
Investigation[edit / edit wiki text]
Immediately after the tragedy, the pilot's error was named as the cause of the disaster.
However, it was later found out that the main reason was the accumulation of snow porridge near the end of the runway, which is why the plane could not gain the necessary speed for takeoff[45].
The plane reached a speed of 217 km / h, but after entering the snow slush, it slowed down to 194 km / h, which was not enough for takeoff.
It was also impossible to cancel the take off, since the runway was ending.
Aircraft with traditional tail landing gear were not so affected by snow porridge due to the peculiarities of the landing gear location to the center of gravity of the aircraft, while new aircraft, such as the "Ambassador", with tricycle nose landing gear and main wheels located behind the center of gravity of the aircraft, were more vulnerable.
After this plane crash, operational restrictions on the maximum permissible amount of snow slush on the runways began to be established.
Despite this conclusion, the management of the Munich airport (responsible for the condition of the runways, although not aware of the danger posed by the snow porridge for the Ambassador type aircraft) filed a lawsuit against Commander Tein as the only surviving pilot.
They accused Thane of starting the takeoff without first taking care of removing the ice from the wings of the plane, and the blame for the crash lies entirely on him, although this was at odds with the testimony of witnesses.
The basis for the accusation on the part of representatives of the airport was a photo of the plane (it was published by some newspapers), which was taken just before departure; it shows accumulations of snow on the upper surface of the wings of the aircraft.
But after examining the original negative of the photo, no snow or ice was visible on the wings; the "snow" effect arose due to the fact that the published photos were printed from a copy of the negative.
No witnesses were called to Germany, and the trial against Thein dragged on until 1968, when all charges were finally dropped from him.
As the official cause of the disaster, the British authorities called the accumulation of melting snow on the runway, because of which the Elizabethan could not gain the speed necessary for takeoff.
James Thane, who was dismissed from British European Airways shortly after the crash, resigned and returned to his poultry farm in Berkshire.
He died of a heart attack in April 1975 at the age of 54.
The consequences of the disaster[edit / edit wiki text]
7 Manchester United players were killed directly in the plane crash, and on February 21, Duncan Edwards died of his injuries in the hospital[17].
Johnny Berry and Jackie Blanchflower never played football again due to their injuries[46].
Matt Busby was seriously injured and remained in the hospital for two months, during which he twice underwent the rite of church anointing[47].
After Busby was discharged from the hospital, he went to Interlaken, Switzerland, for rehabilitation.
At that time, he thought that he was completely finished with football, but one day his wife Jean told him: "You know, Matt, the guys want you to come back"[48].
This phrase brought Busby out of his depression, and he returned to Manchester, attending the final match of the 1958 FA Cup.[48]
Meanwhile, rumors were growing that the club would cease to exist, but the bloodless team under the leadership of Jimmy Murphy (assistant to Matt Busby) continued to perform in the 1957/58 season.
Murphy did not go to Belgrade, as he was in Cardiff, where he was working with the Welsh national team at that time.
Murphy assembled a team of reserve and youth players of the club, and in the first match after the plane crash they beat Sheffield Wednesday with a score of 3: 0. Because of the loss of so many players, United had to buy experienced players to replace them.
So, the striker Ernie Taylor (moved from Blackpool for £ 8000)was bought[49] and Stan Crowther, to a former Aston Villa midfielder who played against United in the 1957 FA Cup final[50].
There were also changes in the coaching staff of the club, as club secretary Walter Krikmer and coaches Tom Curry and Bert Walley were killed in a plane crash[51].
United goalkeeper Les Olive, who was a player at the time of the disaster, ended his career and replaced Crickmer as club secretary[51].
Another ex goalkeeper of the club, Jack Crompton, joined the coaching staff of the team, after United chairman Harold Hardman agreed on his transfer with the management of Luton Town[51].
After the disaster, United won only one match in the championship, which caused them to drop out of the championship race and took only ninth place at the end of the season[52].
United was able to reach the final of the FA Cup, although they lost to Bolton with a score of 2: 0[52], and also beat Milan at Old Trafford in the semi final of the European Champions Cup, but, unfortunately, in the second leg at the San Siro, Milan won with a score of 4: 0[52].
In the 1958-59 season, Busby returned to the post of head coach of the club and began to educate a new generation of "Busby kids", among whom were George Best and Denis Law.
Ten years after the tragedy, in 1968, United won the European Champions Cup, beating Portuguese Benfica in the final match.
Of the survivors of the plane crash, only two played in that match: Bobby Charlton and Bill Foulkes[53].
Cultural aspects[edit / edit wiki text]
"United.
The Munich Tragedy — is a 2011 film.
The crash of flight 609 is shown in the 9th season of the Canadian documentary television series Investigation of plane crashes in the series The Munich Tragedy.
It is also mentioned in the book by I. A. Muromov "100 great plane crashes" in the chapter The death of Manchester United football players at the Ambassador.
See also[edit / edit wiki text]
The An 12 crash in Komsomolsk - on Amur is also a take off from a snow covered strip and a collision with buildings, the death of football players in plane crashes
Notes[edit / edit wiki text]
Comments[edit / edit wiki text]
↑ Here and below is the Greenwich Mean Time GMT
Sources[edit / edit wiki text]
↑ REGISTRATION DETAILS FOR G ALZU (BRITISH EUROPEAN AIRWAYS) AS57 AMBASSADOR 2 — PlaneLogger ↑ UEFA Champions League - History.
uefa.com.
Union of European Football Associations (2 July 2007).
Accessed 10 January 2009.
Archived from the original source on May 29, 2008.
↑ White, p. 103 ↑ 1 2 White, p. 105 ↑ Crick et al., p. 39 ↑ Morrin, pp.67-68 ↑ Morrin, p. 77 ↑ Morrin, p. 86 ↑ Crick et al., p. 46 ↑ 1 2 White, p. 119 ↑ Morrin, p. 93 ↑ Morrin, p. 79 ↑ Morrin, p. 97 ↑ 1 2 Morrin, p. 98 ↑ Morrin, pp.
99-100 ↑ Morrin, p. 101 ↑ 1 2 Barnes et al., p. 16 ↑ Morrin, p. 103 ↑ Morrin, p. 107 ↑ Morrin, pp.
107—108 ↑ 1 2 Morrin, p. 108 ↑ 1 2 3 Morrin, p. 109 ↑ Morrin, pp.
109—110 ↑ 1 2 Morrin, p. 110 ↑ Morrin, p.112 ↑ Morrin, pp.
112—113 ↑ 1 2 Morrin, p. 113 ↑ The Munich air disaster: a timeline.
BBC Manchester.
British Broadcasting Corporation (19 March 2008).
Accessed 12 October 2008.
Archived from the original source on August 19, 2011.
↑ 1 2 3 Morrin, p. 115 ↑ Morrin, p. 116 ↑ White, p. 118 ↑ Dix, Barry.
Fly Past: Survivors of Munich, Hounslow Chronicle, Trinity Mirror Southern (8 August 2008).
Accessed 11 January 2009.
↑ The 21st Survivor(unavailable link history).
Munich58.co.uk.
Checked on January 11, 2009.
Archived from the original source on August 28, 2008.
↑ Leroux, Marcus.
Captain James Thain cleared of blame after the thawing of hospitality, The Times, Times Newspapers (30 January 2008).
Accessed 11 January 2009.
↑ Barnes et al., p. 66 ↑ Busby Babe los
