| Accident summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | February 15, 1961 |
| Type | Mechanical failure |
| Site | near Brussels, Belgium |
| Passengers | 61 |
| Crew | 11 |
| Fatalities | 73 (including one on ground) |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 707-320[1] |
| Operator | Sabena |
| Tail number | OO-SJB |
| Flight origin | Idlewild International Airport |
| Destination | Zaventem Airport |
Sabena Flight 548, registration OO-SJB, was a Boeing 707 aircraft that crashed en route to Brussels, Belgium, from New York City on February 15, 1961, killing the entire United States Figure Skating team on its way to the 1961 World Championships in Prague, Czechoslovakia.
The flight, which originated at Idlewild International Airport (New York International Airport, later renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport), crashed on approach to Brussels' Zaventem Airport. All 72 on board were killed, as well as one person on the ground (Theo de Laet, a farmer, was struck by debris). The crash was the first fatal accident involving a Boeing 707 in regular passenger service, 28 months after it was placed into commercial use.[nb 1]
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There was no indication of trouble on board the plane until it approached the Brussels airport. The pilot had to circle the airport while waiting for a small plane to clear the runway. Then, according to eyewitnesses, the plane began to climb and bank erratically and crashed suddenly in a field near the hamlet of Berg. The wreckage burst into flames. All aboard were killed instantly. A farmer working in the fields was killed by a piece of aluminum debris from the plane, and another farmer's leg was severed by flying debris. Baudouin I, King of the Belgians, and his consort, Queen Fabiola, rushed to the scene of the disaster and provided comfort to the families of the dead and injured farmers.
The exact cause of the crash was never determined beyond reasonable doubt. Investigators suspected that the aircraft may have been brought down by a failure of the stabilizer-adjusting mechanism.
All 18 athletes of the 1961 U.S. figure skating team and 16 family members, coaches, and officials were among the fatalities. The dead included, most notably, 9-time U.S. ladies' champion Maribel Vinson-Owen and her two daughters, reigning U.S. ladies' champion Laurence Owen, reigning U.S. pairs champions Maribel Y. Owen and her partner Dudley Richards, reigning U.S. men's champion Bradley Lord, U.S. men's silver medalist Gregory Kelley, U.S. ladies' silver medalist Stephanie Westerfeld, U.S. ladies' bronze medalist Rhode Lee Michelson and U.S. ice dancing champions Diane Sherbloom and Larry Pierce. The loss of the U.S. team was considered so catastrophic for the sport that the 1961 World Figure Skating Championships were cancelled.[2][3]
American President John F. Kennedy issued a statement of condolence from the White House. He was particularly shocked by the disaster. One of the skaters killed in the crash, Dudley Richards, was a personal friend of President Kennedy and his brother Ted Kennedy from summers spent at Hyannis Port, Massachusetts.
The World Championship event was cancelled. Because the casualties included many of the top American coaches as well as the athletes, the crash was a devastating blow to the U.S. Figure Skating program, which had enjoyed a position of dominance in the sport in the 1950s. Although Scott Allen won a bronze medal at the 1964 Winter Olympics – becoming one of the youngest Olympic medalists in history – the United States would not be dominant again in this sport until the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France, where Peggy Fleming won gold in the ladies' event and Tim Wood the silver in the men's. The crash was also indirectly responsible for bringing foreign coaches such as Carlo Fassi and John Nicks to the United States.
U.S. Figure Skating President F. Ritter Shumway, in office less than two months at the time of the accident, established the USFS Memorial Fund in honor of the crash victims.[4] The fund, which is still in existence, is used to support the training of promising young figure skaters throughout the country. Future Olympic gold medalists Peggy Fleming and Scott Hamilton credit the fund with being vital to their careers.
A film about the event, called RISE, was commissioned by U.S. Figure Skating to celebrate American figure skating and commemorating the 50th anniversary of the accident.[5] RISE was filmed in 2010 and shown in theaters nationwide for one day only: February 17, 2011, with one encore performance on March 7, 2011.[5] The film was shown on the Versus network on October 22, 2011.
Bradley Lord, Gregory Kelley, Douglas Ramsay, Laurence Rochon Owen, Stephanie Westerfeld and Rhode Lee Michelson
Ila Ray Hadley/Ray Hadley, Jr., Laurie Jean Hickox/William Holmes Hickox and Maribel Yerxa Owen/Dudley Shaw Richards
Diane Carol Sherbloom/Dallas "Larry" Pierce, Dona Lee Carrier/Roger Campbell and Patricia Dineen/Robert Dineen
Coaches (Edi Scholdan, Maribel Vinson-Owen, Daniel "Danny" Ryan and three others) and the team manager Deane McMinn. Judges Harold Hartshorne and Edward LeMaire and referee Walter S. Powell
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