ON THIS DAY WITH SHAUN WALLACE

12 March 1950

EIGHTY people were killed when a plane stalled and crashed near Llandow, Wales. At the time it was the world’s worst air disaster. The Avro Tudor V plane, which had taken part in the Berlin airlift, had been hired to fly fans to and from a Five Nations game between Wales and Ireland.

The match, from a Welsh perspective, had been a triumph, with victory securing them the Triple Crown as well as the first Welsh Grand Slam for 39 years.

Fans were still in high spirits the next day when they boarded their plane, Star

Girl, at Dublin Airport.

All seemed well until it made its descent above the Vale of Glamorgan.

Friends and loved ones at the airport noted Star Girl flying unusually low.

The pilot pulled up, but at 300ft Star Girl stalled.

It fell from the sky, crashing into a field two miles from their destination. Of the 83

on board, 72 were killed instantly and eight more succumbed to their injuries. Just three survived.

One of those, Mel Thomas, who spent four months in hospital recovering, would later credit being in the toilet cubicle at the time for saving his life.

He recalled of his recovery: “There were two nurses who looked after me constantly in the hospital and they were both lovely.

“But when I came round I asked where my friends were and they would not tell me that they were dead.”

Among those killed were three members of Abercarn Rugby Football Club and six members of Llanharan RFC. Both teams remember the disaster on their badges.

An inquiry later found that the accident was likely caused by the way the plane had been loaded.

This had moved the centre of gravity backwards, making the elevators less effective, contributing to the fatal stall.

Question: Truman Capote quipped “that’s not writing, that’s typing” about the style of which US author, born on this day in 1922?

Last week I asked: On March 5, 1836, the first modern revolver was granted a patent. Who was the inventor? SAMUEL COLT.