Global Aviator May 2018 / Vol. 10 / No. 5 11
February 6 marked the 60th anniversary of the Munich air disaster
in which eight members of Matt Busby’s trailblazing Manchester
United football team lost their lives. This was a tragedy etched
forever in the history of Manchester and the football world, in
fact so much so that each year on the anniversary, the United
players still wear black armbands in memory of those who died.That fateful afternoon in 1958 ultimately claimed the lives of 23 people.
Disaster occurred when British European Airways Flight 609 crashed on
its third attempt to take off from a slush-covered runway at Munich-Riem
Airport, West Germany. On the plane was the Manchester United football
team who were returning from a victorious European Cup match in Belgrade,
Yugoslavia, The flight stopped to refuel in Munich because a non-stop flight
from Belgrade to Manchester was beyond the "Elizabethan"-class Airspeed
Ambassador's range. After refuelling, pilots James Thain and Kenneth
Rayment twice abandoned take-off because of boost surging in the left engine.
Worried that they would get too far behind schedule, Captain Thain rejected
an overnight stay in Munich in favour of a third take-off attempt. By then,
snow was falling, causing a layer of slush to form at the end of the runway.
After the aircraft hit the slush, it ploughed through a fence beyond the end of
the runway and the left wing was torn off after hitting a house. Fearing the
aircraft might explode, Thain began evacuating passengers while Manchester
United goalkeeper Harry Gregg helped pull survivors from the wreckage.
Although the investigation by West German airport authorities originally
blamed Thain, claiming that he did not de-ice the aircraft's wings, despite
eyewitness statements to the contrary, it was later established that the
crash was caused by the slush on the runway, which slowed the plane too
much to take off. Thain was cleared in 1968, ten years after the incident.
The disaster is part of the club's fabric. Was it fate, or coincidence, that
United would again be crowned champions of Europe on what would have
been Busby's 90th birthday in 1999, or again 50 years on from the crash in 2008?
Memorial services were held in Manchester, Munich and Belgrade on
the 60th anniversary of the Munich air disaster. Former United manager Alex
Ferguson gave a reading before current United manager Jose Mourinho and
captain Michael Carrick laid wreaths in a service at United's home ground,
Old Trafford.
There was a minute's silence as part of a 90-minute event in east Munich,
where the city's mayor was among those giving readings. United estimated
there were 2 000 of the club's fans there.runway from the north or the south.
"They appear to be extremely
disoriented," a man said in Nepali,
watching as Flight BS211 made its
approach, though it was not clear if
the voice belonged to a pilot or the
tower. "Looks like they are really
confused," said another man.
Just before landing, the pilot
asked, "Are we cleared to land?"
The airline and airport
management have blamed each
other for the accident with US-
Bangla Airlines claiming the
pilot was misled by the ATC
as to the runway direction and
airport management claiming
in turn that the aircraft was not
properly aligned with the runway.
The tower repeatedly asked if
the pilot was OK and the reply
was 'Yes,'" according to general
manager, Raj Kumar Chetri.
The pilot, who initially survived
the accident but later succumbed
to his injuries was a former air
force officer. Captain Abid Sultan
had flown the Bombardier Q
series aircraft for more than 1
700 hours and was also a flying
instructor with the airline.
Nepal's government has ordered
an investigation into the crash.
However, Mohammed Kamrul
Islam, a spokesman for US-Bangla
Airlines, said the governments of
both Nepal and Bangladesh need to
"launch a fair investigation and find
the reason behind the accident."
According to the airline,
the plane was carrying 32
passengers from Bangladesh, 33
from Nepal and one each from
China and the Maldives. It did
not provide the nationalities
of the four crew members.
US-Bangla operates Boeing
737-800 and smaller Bombardier
Dash 8 planes, including the Q400,
the model that crashed.The airline
is based in Bangladesh's capital,
Dhaka, and flies domestically and
internationally. The parent company,
part of US-Bangla Group, is also
involved in real estate, education
and agriculture. Kathmandu's
airport has been the site of several
deadly crashes. In September 2012,
a Sita Air turboprop plane carrying
trekkers to Mount Everest hit a bird
and crashed shortly after take off,
killing all 19 people on board.•
60th anniversary
of Munich air disaster
Eleven Manchester United footballers lost their lives on that fateful day back in 1958.