stall stall (WARNING)
1000 ( from the ground)
Mayday! Mayday! We are going down!
400 (from the ground)
300 (from the ground)
Remembering Sabena 548 | The tragic plane crash that killed the entire US figure skating team who were on their way to the World Championships 1961
On February 15, 1961, the US figure skating team was headed to the World Championships in Prague
They board the plane to Brussels
the first leg on their way to Prague
With best wishes from their country
the 18 members of the US figure skating team boarded the flight on Valentine's day
the plane was filled with not just star figure skaters, but their families, coaches and judges
that included the sixteen-year-old, Laurance Owen
who just a few days earlier, had appeared on the cover of "Sports Illustrated" as America's most exciting girl skater
From the skating club of Boston,
Ms. Laurance Owen
This girl was sixth at the Olympics, third in the National seniors last year
watch this combination jump, jump, jump, spin
"3" jump, "Axel" and an Axel sit spin
Laurence Owen
at the tender age of 16
in 1961, Laurence won what was expected to be the first of many US titles
here's a very happy young lady, Laurence Owen, our national ladies champion, congratulations!
what now for you?
well, the north American Championships are in two weeks
and then the World Championships are only about a month away
so we'll be busy
but there would be no world championships that year
and the plane carrying these skaters would never land
instead, the aircraft nose dived into a field less than two miles away from Brussels
killing all 72 people on board and an additional person on the ground
73 died in the crash of a Belgian Sabina jetliner while in the landing pattern for Brussels airport
After twice circling the field, the plane on route from New York runs to earth from a height of about 600 feet
the jet hit a grove of trees after narrowly missing three houses
one farmer was struck and killed by wreckage
another greatly injured
the 11 crew members and 61 passengers all perished
on Sabina Flight 548, there were no survivors
to this day, the cause of the plane crash has never been determined
the sky was clear as the jet came into sight of the control tower
and began a holding pattern over the sleepy town of Berg
but when they began the final approach, the landing gear retracted
jet pulled up erratically,
the plane then made three full circles and each time the angle of bank increased
so by the last turn, the plane was nearly on its side
the plane then leveled off, pitched up abruptly, and dove to the ground
and the control tower lost contact
though the cause of the crash is officially unknown,
given the behavior of the pilot, it's assumed that it was due to mechanical error in the flying controls
the federal aviation administration concluded
it was likely the result of an issue with the stabilizer adjusting mechanism
the crash's impact on figure skating was devastating
I had a phone call and the first thing he said to me "did you hear about the plane crash?"
my friend called me and she was in tears
and then she finally kept saying "no no no, you don't understand, they're all dead!"
it was just a total shock
and you know these were my friends
these were people I competed with
the sports world was stunned
the entire US figure skating team perished in a plane crash on their way to the World Championships in Prague
due to the loss of the US figure skating team, the International Skating Union cancelled the World championships that year out of respect
the crash was devastating for US figure skating
not only the skaters, but the coaches like Eddie Sheldon, Maribel Vinson, Bill Kipp who was the coach of Peggy Fleming at the time
The crash prompted US Figure skating executives to issue a mandate that still applies today
No team traveling to an international competition would ever be allowed to fly together again