| Sabena Flight 548 |
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Information About ™Sabena Flight 548 |
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Sabena Flight 548 crashed on landing approach to Brussels , Belgium , on February 15 , 1961 , killing all 72 persons on board as well as one person on the ground. The crash was the first one involving a Boeing 707 in regular service (three 707s had crashed previously during training or test flights). It was notable because the dead included the entire United States Figure Skating team who were en route to the 1961 World Championships in Prague , Czechoslovakia . The plane, OO-SJB, was a Boeing 707-329 operated by Belgian air operator Sabena , which had departed from Idlewild Airport in New York City . There was no indication of trouble on board the plane until it approached the Brussels airport. The pilot had to circle the airport while waiting for a small plane to clear the runway. Then, according to eyewitnesses, the plane began to climb and bank erratically and crashed suddenly in a field near the hamlet of Berg. The exact cause of the crash was never determined, although the FAA reported that the most likely hypothesis was failure of the stabilizer adjusting mechanism. team, about to board the plane.]] All 18 athletes of the 1961 U.S. World Figure Skating team and several family members, coaches, and officials died in the crash. The dead included, most notably, 9-time U.S. ladies champion Maribel Vinson-Owen and her two daughters, reigning U.S. ladies champion Laurence Owen , reigning U.S. pairs champions Maribel Y. Owen and her partner Dudley Richards , reigning U.S. men champion Bradley Lord , U.S. men silver medalist Gregory Kelley , U.S. women silver medalist Stephanie Westerfeld and U.S. dance champions Diane C. Sherbloom and Larry Pierce . The loss of the U.S. team was considered so catastrophic for the sport that the 1961 World Figure Skating Championships were cancelled. U.S. Figure Skating Association President F. Ritter Shumway , in office less than two months at the time of the accident, established the USFSA Memorial Fund in honor of the crash victims. The Fund is used to support the training of promising young figure skaters throughout the country. EXTERNAL LINKS
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