From Munich to the Andes, air accidents in sport
HONG KONG: The death of Thai billionaire and Leicester City football club owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha in a helicopter crash has shocked fans, but it is not the irst air accident in sport. Here are . eight other aviation disasters to hit the sports world:
MANCHESTER UNITED: Eight members of Manchester United’s celebrated ‘Busby Babes’ team were among 23 people who died when their plane crashed after attempting to take off in poor conditions in Munich on Feb.6, 1958.
England superstar Duncan Edwards was among those killed, while Sir Bobby Charlton was only slightly hurt. Manager Matt Busby recovered from serious injuries and rebuilt United into a force that would win the European Cup a decade .ROCKY later, MARCIANO: in 1968.
American boxing legend Rocky Marciano was killed when his jet crashed into a tree as it was coming in to land in the US state of Iowa, on August 31, 1969. Marciano, 45 when he died, was world heavyweight champion between . 1952 and 1956 and retired undefeated with a 49-0 record. URUGUAY RUGBY TEAM: Uruguay’s Old Christians rugby team were on a plane which came down in the remote Andes mountain range on October 13, 1972. Only 16 of the 45 on board were rescued, . two-and-a-half months later.
ZAMBIA FOOTBALL TEAM: On April 27, 1993, an aircraft carrying Zambia’s national football team crashed into the sea shortly after take off from Gabon, en route to play Senegal . in a World Cup qualiier, killing all 25 on board.
MATTHEW HARDING: In an incident with striking similarities to the Leicester crash, Matthew Harding, vice-chairman of Premier League football club Chelsea, died on October 22, 1996 when his helicopter came down in poor weather as he returned from a League Cup win against Bolton Wanderers. Like Vichai, the popular Harding was known for his largesse and ploughed millions .PAYNE of STEWART: pounds into his club.
The lamboyant American golfer Payne Stewart was killed on Oct.25, 1999 after his jet lost pressure and hurtled into a ield . .RUSSIAN ICE HOCKEY TEAM:
A plane carrying top-tier Russian ice hockey team Lokomotiv Yaroslavl crashed due to pilot error after taking off for their irst game of the 20112012 .CHAPECOENSE: season in the Belarus capital, Minsk. All of the players were killed.
A plane carrying Brazil’s Chapecoense football team ran out of fuel and crashed in the Andes near Medellin, Colombia, on Nov.28, 2016. Seventy-one of the 77 people on board were killed, including 16 of the 19 players.