Munich
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Today marks the 50th anniversary of the Munich air disaster.
British European Airways Flight 609 crashed on its third attempt to takeoff from a slush-covered runway at the Munich-Riem airport in Munich, Germany. 23 of the 44 passengers on board the aircraft died in the disaster.
The flight was operated by British European Airways (BEA) as an "Elizabethan" class Airspeed Ambassador charter aircraft G-ALZU Lord Burghley.
Eight of the victims were Manchester United footballers:
- Geoffrey Bent
- Roger Byrne
- Eddie Colman
- Duncan Edwards
- Mark Jones
- David Pegg
- Tommy Taylor
- Liam "Billy" Whelan
Three were members of the club's staff:
- Walter Crickmer, the secretary
- Tom Curry, the trainer
- Bert Whalley, the coach
Eight were newspaper representatives:
- Alf Clarke of the Manchester Evening Chronicle
- Don Davies of The Guardian
- George Follows of the Daily Herald
- Tom Jackson of the Manchester Evening News
- Archie Ledbrooke of the Daily Mirror
- Henry Rose of the Daily Express
- Eric Thompson of the Daily Mail
- Frank Swift of the News of the World; the former Manchester City and England goalkeeper
Two were members of the BEA crew:
- Captain Kenneth Rayment, the co-pilot
- Tom Cable, a steward
Two other passengers also died:
- Bela Miklos, the travel agent
- Willie Satinoff, a supporter
2 Comments
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Manchester United has said that anyone who breaks the minutes silence on Saturday or Sunday - which ever day it is on - will get a lifetime ban
The game's on Sunday; and a lifetime ban seems harsh when considering that not much seems to happen to people at other games that break the silence.
However, with so many people having lost their life; and when you consider that only 11 of the 23 were Manchester United staff and players and 8 of the other 12 were press representatives; including Frank Swift, who was a former Manchester City and England goalkeeper; breaking the silence, would be showing a blatant disregard for the 23 people that died.
I think there's a danger that there may be a small die-hard core of idiots that might try to disrupt it but I think that they need to remember that whilst the tragedy is mainly associated with Manchester United; there were 12 people who weren't affiliated with Manchester United amongst the 23 deaths.
I must admit that I was pleased that the minute's silence was properly respected at the England vs Switzerland game.