Munich air disaster

Munich air disaster
Summary
Date 1958-02-06
Type Take-off failure
Site Munich, West Germany
Passengers 38
Crew 6
Injuries 19
Fatalities 23
Survivors 21
Aircraft type Airspeed AS-57 Ambassador
Aircraft name Lord Burghley
Operator British European Airways
Tail number G-ALZU
Flight origin Belgrade Airport, Yugoslavia
Stopover Munich-Riem Airport, West Germany
Destination Manchester Airport, England

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 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. 21 of the 44 passengers on board the aircraft died instantly after the crash, while two others died in hospital a few days later.

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.

Contents

Background

In 1955, UEFA established the European Cup, a football competition for the champion clubs of UEFA-affiliated nations. However, the English league winners, Chelsea, were denied entry by the Football League, who believed it was in the best interests of English football and football in general for them not to enter. The following season, the English league was won by Manchester United, managed by the visionary Matt Busby. Originally, the Football League again denied entry to the European Cup, but Busby and his chairman, Harold Hardman, with the help of the Football Association's chairman Stanley Rous, defied the league and became the first English team to venture into Europe.

The Manchester United management had taken a chance, and it had paid off, with the young team – known as the "Busby Babes" for their youth – proving the Football League wrong by reaching the semi-finals of the 1956–57 competition, being knocked out by eventual winners Real Madrid. Winning the First Division title again that season meant that they secured qualification for the 1957–58 tournament, and their successful cup run in 1956–57 meant that they were one of the favourites to win it. 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]

After overcoming Shamrock Rovers and Dukla Prague in the preliminary round and the first round respectively, Manchester United were drawn with Red Star Belgrade of Yugoslavia for the quarter-finals. After beating the Yugoslavians 2–1 at Old Trafford on 21 January 1958, the club was scheduled to travel to Yugoslavia for the return leg on 5 February. On the way back from Prague in the previous round, fog over England prevented the team from flying back to Manchester, so they hastily made arrangements to fly to Amsterdam before taking the ferry from the Hook of Holland to Harwich and then the train up to Manchester. The trip took its toll on the players and they were only able to scrape a 1–1 draw with Birmingham City at St Andrew's.

Eager not to miss any of their Football League fixtures in the future, and also not to have to go through such a difficult trip again, the club chartered a plane from Manchester to Belgrade for the away leg against Red Star. The match itself was drawn 3–3, but it was enough to send United to the semi-finals. The takeoff from Belgrade was delayed for an hour as United outside right Johnny Berry had lost his passport,[2] then the plane made a scheduled stop in Munich to refuel.

The crash

Captain James Thain, the pilot, had flown the plane out to Belgrade, but handed the controls to his co-pilot, Captain Kenneth Rayment for the return journey. At around 2:00 pm, the control tower at Munich airport was told that the plane was ready to take off, and they were cleared to attempt to get underway at 2:31 pm. However, Captain Rayment abandoned the take off after just 40 seconds after Captain Thain had noticed the port boost pressure gauge fluctuating as the plane reached full power and the engine sounded odd while accelerating. A second attempt was made three minutes later, but this too was called off before the plane got off the ground. The reason given for the failed attempts was that the plane had been filled with a very rich mixture of fuel, causing the engines to over-accelerate. After the second failure, all the passengers were told to disembark the plane and they retreated to the airport lounge. By then, it had started to snow heavily, and it looked unlikely that the plane would be making the return journey that day. Manchester United's Duncan Edwards took the opportunity to send a telegram ahead to his landlady in Manchester. It read: "All flights cancelled, flying tomorrow. Duncan."

Despite the snow, the passengers were called back out to the plane just 15 minutes later. A few of the players were not confident fliers, particularly Liam Whelan, who was heard to say "This may be death, but I'm ready" shortly before take off. Others, including Duncan Edwards, Tommy Taylor, Mark Jones, Eddie Colman and Frank Swift moved to the back of the plane, believing it to be safer. After discussions with the airport engineer, Captains Thain and Rayment got the plane moving again for a third take off attempt at 3:04 pm. Once the plane reached 117 kn (217 km/h), Captain Thain called out "V1", indicating that they had reached the velocity at which it was no longer safe to abort the take off. However, when he glanced back down to the airspeed indicator, expecting the needle to continue to rise to V2, it suddenly dropped back down to 112 kn (207 km/h), and then 105 kn (194 km/h). Captain Rayment shouted "Christ, we won't make it!", as Captain Thain looked up to see what lay ahead of them.

The plane skidded off the end of the runway and, out of control, crashed into the fence surrounding the airport and then across a road before its port wing was torn off as it caught a house, home to a family of six. The father and eldest daughter were away at the time, and the mother and the other three children narrowly escaped with their lives as the house caught on fire. Part of the plane's tail was torn off too, before the left side of the cockpit hit a tree. The right side of the fuselage hit a Nissen hut, inside which was a truck filled with tyres and fuel, which exploded.[3] 21 people were killed instantly, while Duncan Edwards and Captain Rayment died in hospital a few days later.

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 end 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 kn (217 km/h), but, on entering the slush, speed dropped to 105 kn (194 km/h), too slow for the plane to leave the ground, 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, as the one pilot 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.

Fatalities

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

Manchester United players

Manchester United staff

Journalists

Crew members and other passengers

Survivors

Manchester United players

Manchester United staff

Journalist

Photographers

Crew

Other passengers

Aftermath

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. He finally left hospital on 17 April 1958, arriving back in Manchester the following day.

There was speculation that the club would fold, but a threadbare United team completed the 1957–58 season, with Busby's assistant Jimmy Murphy standing in as manager; he had not travelled to Belgrade as he was in Cardiff 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 (1958–59) 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.

Memorials

Old Trafford

Commemorative plaque at Old Trafford

The first memorials at Old Trafford to the lost players and staff were unveiled on 25 February 1960. The first, a plaque in the shape of the stadium with the image of a green pitch, inscribed with the names of the victims in black and gold glass, was placed above the entrance to the directors' box. Above the plaque was a teak carving of a player and a supporter, heads bowed either side of a wreath and a football inscribed with the date "1958". The plaque was designed by Manchester architect J. Vipond and constructed by Messrs Jaconello (Manchester) Ltd. at a cost of £2,100.[5]

Also unveiled that day was a memorial to the members of the press who died at Munich, which consisted of a bronze plaque that named the eight lost journalists and was unveiled by Munich survivor Frank Taylor on behalf of the Football Writers' Association. The original plaque was stolen in the 1980s and replaced by a replica now located behind the counter in the press entrance.[5] The final memorial was the Munich clock, a simple two-faced clock paid for by the Ground Committee and attached to the south-east corner of the stadium, with the date "Feb 6th 1958" at the top of both faces and "Munich" at the bottom. The clock has remained in the same position since it was first installed.[5]

When the stadium underwent renovations in the mid 1970s, it became necessary to move the plaque from the directors' entrance to allow the necessary changes. However, it was not possible to remove the plaque without damaging it, so the decision was taken to simply wall up the old memorial within the Main Stand and commission a new one. The replacement plaque was simpler than the original, now consisting simply of a slate pitch with the names inscribed upon it, and was installed in 1976.[5]

A third version of the memorial, more like the original than the second in that it included the stands around the slate pitch and the figures above it, was installed in 1996, coinciding with the erection of the statue of Matt Busby, who had unveiled the original memorial.[5] This third version was constructed by stonemasons Mather and Ellis from Trafford Park, and the second was put into storage. It is currently awaiting new display panels before being placed into the club museum's Munich display.[5] The third plaque and the statue of Busby were originally located on the north side of the East Stand, but the statue was moved to the front of the East Stand and the plaque to the south side of the stand after the stand's expansion in 2000.[5]

Munich

There are also two memorials in Germany. First, in the village of Kirchtrudering, on the corner of Karotschstraße and Emplstraße, there is a small wooden memorial depicting Jesus on the crucifix, decorated by a stone trough filled with flowers. The trough bears a plaque with the inscription: "Im Gedenken an die Opfer des Flugzeugkatastrophe am 6.2.1958 unter denen sich auch ein Teil der Fußballmannschaft von Manchester United befand, sowie allen Verkehrstoten der Gemeinde Trudering" (English: 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).[6]

On 22 September 2004, a dark blue granite plaque set in a sandstone border was unveiled in the vicinity of the old Munich Airport in Trudering.[7] It reads, in both English and German, "In memory of all those who lost their lives here in the Munich air disaster on the 6th February 1958".[8] Underneath is a plaque expressing United's gratitude to the municipality of Munich and its people. The new memorial was funded by Manchester United themselves and the unveiling was attended by club officials, including chief executive David Gill, manager Alex Ferguson and director Bobby Charlton, a survivor of the disaster himself.[7]

40th anniversary

In late 1997, John Doherty approached United chairman Martin Edwards on behalf of the Manchester United Former Players' Association to request a testimonial for those victims of the Munich disaster – both the survivors and the dependants of the ones who were lost.[9] Edwards was hesitant, but a benefit match was eventually sanctioned for a date as close to the 40th anniversary of the disaster as possible. Red Star Belgrade and Bayern Munich were touted as possible opponents for the match, and fans purchased tickets without the opponents even having been decided.[10]

However, in the midst of the preparations, former United player Eric Cantona, who had retired from football to pursue a career in film in the summer of 1997, expressed an interest in returning to Manchester United for a farewell match. Edwards, ever the businessman, took the opportunity to combine the two events into one.[11] From then on, the match ceased to be primarily a tribute to the Busby Babes and became more about Cantona. Due to Cantona's new acting career, his schedule meant that he would not be available in February and the match was moved to 18 August, with the opposition to be a European XI chosen by Cantona himself. Martin Edwards was criticised for turning the match into a publicity stunt, while Elizabeth Wood, the divorced wife of Munich survivor Ray Wood, compared the treatment of the Munich victims to that of "dancing bears at the circus". Nevertheless, the match earned the relatively paltry sum of £47,000 for each of the victims' families, while Eric Cantona recouped over £90,000 in expenses directly from the testimonial fund, rather than from the club.[12]

50th anniversary

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

A memorial service was held at Old Trafford on 6 February 2008. At the conclusion of the service, the surviving members of the 1958 team unveiled the renaming of the tunnel in the stadium's South Stand as the "Munich Tunnel", which now features an exhibition about the Busby Babes.[13]

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. There was also a tribute to the Busby Babes in the match programme.[14] 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.[15] 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.[16]

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.[17] Manchester City's supporters had originally suggested a minute's applause instead of a minute's silence, so as to drown out anyone who would disrupt the silence, but this was rejected by the Manchester United management as inappropriate.[18] United played in strips reminiscent of those worn by the 1958 team, numbered 1–11 with no advertising on the front or players names on the back, while City removed shirt manufacturers and sponsors logos from their kit and the image of a small black ribbon was embroidered to the right shoulder;[19] 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.[20] Fans in attendance were given commemorative scarves – in red and white for the United fans, and blue and white for the City fans – which were held up during the silence.[21]

Tributes

Music

"Cut down in their prime,
In silence, on that day,
February 58, they got what they need,
From Belgrade and back home to sleep"

Film

Barry Navidi is currently working on a script for a Hollywood film about the Munich air crash. The Manchester Evening News reported on 22 April 2005 that the survivors had not been consulted and were concerned about how accurate the film would be.[26]

Bill Foulkes said that, if done right, the film could become a "tribute to the Busby Babes which could be seen for generations to come." However, he expressed concerns about the accuracy of the film, given the filmmakers' lack of first-hand sources about what actually happened in Munich.[26] Fellow survivor Harry Gregg was more concerned about the portrayal of the players, particularly those who died, and whether their families' feelings would be respected.[26]

John Doherty, a former United player who had left United only a few months earlier, was less restrained, saying that the filmmakers were only interested in making money off the back of the tragedy and that they couldn't possibly know what went on that day without having been there.[26]

Television

On 10 January 2006, the BBC showed a drama/documentary retelling the story in the series Surviving Disaster. However, the programme was met with criticism from former United winger Albert Scanlon, who claimed that it was full of inaccuracies despite the production having consulted him about the content of the documentary. Errors in the programme included the depiction of Jimmy Murphy giving a pre-match team talk in Belgrade, despite him being in Cardiff at the time, and the plane being shown as only half full when nearly every seat was occupied.[27]

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

Other

The University of Salford honoured Munich victim Eddie Colman by naming one of its halls of residence for him.[31] Colman was born in Salford in 1936.

See also

References

General
Specific
  1. ↑ Crick et al., p.39
  2. ↑ Crick et al., p.46
  3. ↑ "The Munich air disaster: a timeline". BBC Manchester. British Broadcasting Corporation (2008-03-19). Retrieved on 2008-10-12.
  4. ↑ "Gregg's 'greatest save' - Munich remembered", BBC News (2008-02-04). Retrieved on 2008-10-07. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 "The Munich Plaque at Old Trafford". Munich58.co.uk (2005). Retrieved on 2008-10-12.
    Transcribed from a 2005 issue of Manchester United fanzine Red News
  6. ↑ "The Memorial At Munich Airport". Munich58.co.uk. Retrieved on 2008-10-12.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "New memorial to be unveiled at Munich Airport". Munich58.co.uk (2004). Retrieved on 2008-10-12.
  8. ↑ "Photo 3 of 13". Munich58.co.uk (September 2004). Retrieved on 2008-10-12.
  9. ↑ Morrin, pp.201–202
  10. ↑ Morrin, p.203
  11. ↑ Morrin, pp.203–204
  12. ↑ Morrin, p.205
  13. ↑ "Football honours Munich victims", BBC Sport (2008-02-06). Retrieved on 2008-10-11. 
  14. ↑ "Minute's silence for Munich crash", BBC Sport (2008-01-28). Retrieved on 2008-10-12. 
  15. ↑ "No silence to honour Munich crash", BBC Sport (2008-01-16). Retrieved on 2008-01-18. 
  16. ↑ Rudd, Alyson (2008-02-07). "Silent majority drowned out as tributes cut short", TimesOnline, The Times. Retrieved on 2008-02-08. 
  17. ↑ "Fans respect silence for Munich", BBC Sport (2008-02-10). Retrieved on 2008-10-12. 
  18. ↑ Bostock, Adam (2008-01-22). "United reject applause idea", Manchester United. Retrieved on 2008-10-12. 
  19. ↑ Bartram, Steve (2008-02-08). "Derby kit unveiled", Manchester United. Retrieved on 2008-10-12. 
  20. ↑ Sanghera, Mandeep (2008-02-10). "Man Utd 1-2 Man City", BBC Sport. Retrieved on 2008-10-12. 
  21. ↑ Hibbs, Ben (2008-02-10). "Moving silence at OT", Manchester United. Retrieved on 2008-10-12. 
  22. ↑ Hall, David (2008). "Prologue: The Flowers of Manchester". Manchester's Finest. London: Bantam Press. pp. pp.4–5. ISBN 978-0-593-05922-7. 
  23. ↑ "Irish Blood, English Heart [Single]". Amazon.com. Retrieved on 2008-10-11.
  24. ↑ "Live at Earls Court [Specially Packaged [Live] [Limited Edition]]". Amazon.com. Retrieved on 2008-10-11.
  25. ↑ Clarke, Betty (2006-05-26). "The Futureheads, News and Tributes", The Guardian, Guardian News and Media. Retrieved on 2008-10-11. 
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 26.3 Hince, Paul (2005-04-22). "Munich film row", Manchester Evening News (Manchester), M.E.N. Media. Retrieved on 2008-10-10. 
  27. ↑ "Survivor's anger over Munich crash film", Manchester Evening News, M.E.N. Media (2006-01-07). Retrieved on 2008-10-11. 
  28. ↑ "Munich Aircrash: Disaster Season". UKTV History. UKTV. Retrieved on 2008-10-11.
  29. ↑ "MUTV Schedule: 6 Feb", Manchester United (2008-02-05). Retrieved on 2008-10-11. 
  30. ↑ "Gregg's 'greatest save' - Munich remembered", BBC News (2008-02-04). Retrieved on 2008-10-07. 
  31. ↑ "Eddie Colman and John Lester Courts". University of Salford. Retrieved on 2008-10-13.

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