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Munich Air DisasterThe Munich air disaster happened on February 6, 1958, when British European Flight 609, a British European Airways "Elizabethan" class Airspeed Ambassador charter aircraft (G-ALZU 'Lord Burghley'), carrying players and backroom staff of Manchester United F.C., plus a number of journalists and supporters, crashed in a blizzard on its third attempt to take off from Munich-Riem airport. United were returning from Belgrade where they had just beaten Red Star Belgrade in the European Cup and had stopped off at Munich for re-fuelling. Twenty-three of the forty-three passengers on board the aircraft lost their lives in the disaster. Although originally blamed on pilot error, the crash was subsequently found to have been caused by the build-up of slush towards the ends of the runway, causing a deceleration of the aircraft and preventing safe-flying-speed from being attained. Previous aircraft types fitted 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 incorporating nosewheel landing-gear (such as the Ambassador) with the mainwheels 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. Victims Manchester United players Other victims Survivors Manchester United players Other survivors See Also External links - http://www.munich58.co.uk
- http://www.thebusbybabes.com
- http://manutd.soccer24-7.com/custom/1.html
Ref: 'Air Disasters' by Stanley Stewart - Arrow Books (UK) 1986/89 - ISBN 0-09-956200-6
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