Sabena Flight 548

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 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 was a Boeing 707 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 cause of the crash was never determined, although the FAA reported that the most likely hypothesis was failure of the stabilizer adjusting mechanism.

All 18 athletes of the 1961 US World Figure Skating team and several family members, coaches, and officials died in the crash. The dead included, most notably, former 9-time US ladies champion Maribel Vinson-Owen and her two daughters, reigning US ladies champion Laurence Owen and reigning US pairs champion Maribel Y. Owen. The loss of the US team was considered so catastrophic for the sport that the 1961 World Championships were cancelled.

External links

• Accident description at Aviation Safety Network
• Photo of the crash scene
• US Figure Skating Memorial Fund