The Munich air disaster occurred when a British European Airways Airspeed Ambassador, carrying the Manchester United football team home from a European Cup match against Red Star Belgrade, crashed on its third attempt to take off from Munich-Riem airport. The runway was covered with slush, which slowed the aircraft so that it could not reach flying speed, and it ran off the end, hitting a house and a hut. Twenty-three of the forty-four people on board died, including eight of the players known as the Busby Babes, along with journalists and club staff. The manager Matt Busby survived after serious injuries and rebuilt the team, which went on to win the European Cup in 1968. The pilot, James Thain, was blamed at first but later cleared.
Before and after
- 19 January 1958Origins of Canadian Football League
- 23 January 1958Establishment of Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park
- 26 January 1958Birth of Ellen DeGeneres
- 1 February 1958Launch of Explorer 1
- 6 February 1958Munich air disaster
- March 1958Start of the Keeling curve at Mauna Loa
- 2 March 1958Construction of Beijing Capital International Airport
- 2 March 1958The Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the crossing
- 14 March 1958Birth of Albert II, Prince of Monaco
More in Society, economy & sport
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- 8 August 1967Founding of ASEAN
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- 9 September 1999Founding of African Union
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- from 15 November 2019 to 5 May 2023COVID-19 pandemic
The era
This moment belongs to the Contemporary world (1945 CE to today), the world since 1945. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.