If you are a football fan, then I think you have probably heard “Thursday 6 February 1958”. If not then read this post carefully. Thursday 6 February 1958 is known as the black day in the history of football. This is also known as the “Munich Air Disaster.” Eight Manchester United players died in Munich Air Disaster. Seven players were found dead just after the crash and one player died after a few days due to injuries. Not only players but three Manchester United staffs, two crew members, eight sports journalists and two other passengers died in the Munich Air Disaster. Total 23 people died in the Munich Air Disaster.
In April 1955 UEFA established European Cup. In the year 1958 Manchester United were in the quarter-final of that tournament. They were drawn to Red Star Belgrade of Yugoslavia. The first fixture was on January 14, 1958, in the Old Trafford. Manchester was successful to beat away team with the 2-1 scoreline. Then the second leg was on the home ground of Red Star Belgrade of Yugoslavia on February 5th. That match ended in 3-3 draw, and it was enough for Manchester United to make progress in the next round. The fixtures of Manchester United were busy, so they decided to fly back quickly. Johnny Berry lost his passport, so the flight was delayed for one hour.
the control tower at Munich was told the plane was ready to take off and gave clearance for take-off, expiring at 14:31. Rayment abandoned the take-off after Thain 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 called off 40 seconds into the attempt because the engines were running on an over-rich mixture, causing them to over-accelerate, a common problem for the "Elizabethan."After the second failure, passengers 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
Inside to bad weather, the pilot tried to take off. Suddenly the plane was skidded off the end of the runway. Then it was crashed into the fence surrounding the airport across a road. Its port wing was torn off as it caught a house. Six peoples were living in that house. But at that time two were outside, and the other four ran away after the fire was spread in the house. Twenty peoples died there, and the other was injured badly.
People Died in the Munich Air Disaster
Crew Members
Captain Kenneth "Ken" Rayment
Cabin steward Tom Cable
Manchester United Players
Geoff Bent
Roger Byrne
Eddie Colman
Mark Jones
David Pegg
Tommy Taylor
Liam “Billy” Whelan
Manchester United Staff
Walter Crickmer – Club Secretary
Tom Cury - Trainer
Bert Whalley – Chief Coach
Journalists
Alf Clarke – Manchester Evening Chronicle
Donny Davies – Manchester Guardian
George Follows – Daily Herald
Tom Jackson – Manchester Evening News
Archie Ledbrooke – Daily Mirror
Henry Rose – Daily Express
Frank Swift – News of the World
Eric Thompson – Daily Mail
Other Passengers
Bela Miklos
Willie Satinoff
Survivors of Bayern Air Disasters
Crew Members
Margaret Bellis, stewardess
Rosemary Cheverton, stewardess
George William "Bill" Rodgers Radio Officer
Captain James Thain Pilot
Manchester United Players
Johnny Berry
Jackie Blanchflower
Bobby Charlton
Bill Foukles
Harry Gregg
Kenny Morgans
Albert Scanlon
Denis Viollet
Ray Wood
Manchester United Staff
Matt Busby – Manager
Journalists
Ted Ellyard – Daily mail
Peter Howard, - Daily Mail
Frank Taylor – News Chronicle
Other passengers
Vera Lukić
Eleanor Miklos
Nebojša Bato Tomašević
According to the investigation, Bayern Air Disaster was caused due to an error of pilot. That air disaster caused a big loss to Manchester United and Football. Manchester United was on the way to before the third club ever to win the League trophy for the third time in the row. The memorials at Old Trafford to the died players and staff was unveiled on 25 February 1960. The name of victims of Bryan Air Disaster was written in a black and gold glass. And they were at the right position before the accident. But everything changed after the accident. They lost many outstanding players and staffs. This was the greatest ever loss for the Manchester United. They struggled for many years after Bayern Air Disaster. It took them ten years to recover from that accident and win the European Cup.
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