The Munich air tragedy happened on February 6, 1958, when British European Airways Flight 609 crashed during
its third attempt to take off at Munich-Riem Airport in Munich, West Germany. The airplane was transporting the
Manchester United football squad, also known as the “Busby Babes,” as well as spectators and journalists.[1] There
were 44 individuals on board, and 20 of them died at the spot. The injured, some unconscious, were brought to
Munich’s Rechts der Isar Hospital, where three more died, for a total of 23 dead and 21 survivors.
The Manchester United team was returning from a European Cup encounter in Belgrade, Yugoslavia (now Serbia),
where they defeated Red Star Belgrade to reach to the competition’s semi-finals. The flight made a stop in Munich to
refuel since the “Elizabethan”-class Airspeed Ambassador couldn’t fly nonstop from Belgrade to Manchester. After
refueling, pilots James Thain and Kenneth Rayment twice aborted takeoff due to boost surge in the left engine. Thain
vetoed an overnight stopover in Munich in favour of a third takeoff attempt, fearing they would fall too far behind
schedule.
By then, snow had fallen, forming a layer of slush at the runway’s end. After hitting the slush, the plane crashed
through a fence beyond the end of the runway, and the left wing was severed when it collided with a home. The tail
part detached and collided with a barn containing a parked gasoline truck, causing it to catch fire and explode. Thain
began evacuating passengers, fearing that the plane would also explode, while goalkeeper Harry Gregg assisted in the
recovery of survivors from the wreckage.
West German airport authorities initially blamed Thain, claiming he did not de-ice the aircraft’s wings, despite
eyewitness testimony indicating that de-icing was unnecessary.[2] The last inquiry by the United Kingdom Board of
Trade, published in 1969, determined that the crash was caused by snow slush on the runway, which delayed the
plane too much to allow takeoff, and that Captain Thain was not to fault.[3]
