Manchester United Plane Crash in 1958

The Match before the Crash:

The crash came after they're European Cup Quarter-Final match in Munich. It was a Thursday, the 5th of February 1958, and United had just managed a 3 all draw against Red Star in the 2nd leg to qualify for the next round 5-4 on aggregate. Bobby Charlton scored a hatrick in that game and his goals secured a semi-final match against AC Milan.

The Crash:

The sky was grey, the runway a mass of snow and icy slush which was a result of four hours heavy snowfall. The weather was particularly bad all over Europe but at last a break in the bad weather came. The Captain decided conditions were good enough for take-off so a total of 43 passengers, including players, club officials, journalists and plane staff boarded the plane just after 3pm for the 3rd attempted take-off for England. The plane was a twin-engined airliner that had not been involved in any previous crashes. As the plane hit the runway, just before it became airborne, it caught part of the airport's steel perimeter fence, which dragged it slightly off-course. The plain then veered off to the left, across a main road and head first into a detached house at 70mph. The right wing flew off and landed 250 metres away in a field.

The spare fuel tank with gallons of petrol inside hit a stationery tanker which was being stored in a wooden shed. It then split in

two and exploded.

The Aftermath:

An inferno of flames engulfed the plane, half of which was lying inside a crumpled house. Survivors moved quickly to free themselves and then help others escape. Out of the 43 passengers, 21 died that day including eight of the 'Busby Babes'. The survivors were all taken to the nearest hospital where another 2 passengers died from their injuries.

The 8 United players that died were:

. Roger Byrne, a full back and United's captain, the oldest squad player at 28. He had won 33 caps for his country.

2. Liam Whelan was 22 and had won four caps for Ireland.

3. Eddie Colman was 21 and rated one of the best defenders in the game by many sportswriters.

4. Geoff Bent made his debut in 1954, 4 years before the crash. He was 25.

5. David Pegg made his debut at 17, a record back then. He had lots of pace and had scored 28 goals before he died in Munich at 22.

6. Tommy Taylor signed for United in a record-breaking fee of £30,000. He was a hard-working centre forward who scored 131 in 190 appearances. He earned 19 caps and was recognized as England's best striker. He was 25.

7. Mark Jones was a centre back that played 121 games for United before he died, aged 24.

8. Duncan Edwards made his debut at 17. The following year he received an England call-up and became the youngest player to represent his country for over 50 years. He played anywhere; he completed 60-yard passes regularly and accurately. He scored 21 goals for United. He had vision, speed and was a fierce tackler. He won 18 caps and scored 5 for his country but his promising career was ended abruptly at 21 after just 4 years as a professional. He was seen by many as the perfect player.

Conclusion:

It was concluded that snow on the runway was to blame for the crash. United were offered free entries into next years European Cup but they refused, perhaps understandably. In their next game after the crash, United ran riot and beat Sheffield Wednesday 3-0. Ray Wood, a Munich survivor passed out 80 minutes into the game because of tiredness. All the United players suffered from tiredness after that game. 2 days later, Duncan Edwards died.

United ended up finishing 9th in the league from a comfortable 1st. United had to wait until 1965 until they won the League Title again.

Several years after the disaster, Manchester United wore black as an official home kit as a mark of respect for The Busby Babes.