Sabena Flight 548

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Sabena Flight 548

Wreckage of Flight 548
Summary
Date  February 15, 1961
Type  Mechanical failure
Site  near Brussels, Belgium
Fatalities  72 plus one on ground
Aircraft
 Aircraft type  Boeing 707
Operator  Sabena
Tail number  OO-SJB
Passengers  61
Crew  11
Survivors  0

Sabena Flight 548, registration OO-SJB, was a Boeing 707 aircraft en route from New York City's International Airport to Brussels, Belgium's Zaventem Airport on February 15, 1961. The flight crashed during the approach for landing. All 72 on board were killed, as was one person on the ground. The crash was the first fatal accident involving a Boeing 707 in regular passenger service[1]. Among the dead were the entire United States Figure Skating team, who were en route to the 1961 World Championships in Prague, Czechoslovakia.


Contents

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 wreckage burst into flames. All aboard were killed instantly. A farmer working in the fields was killed by a piece of aluminum shrapnel, and another farmer had his leg amputated by flying debris from the plane. King Baudouin I of Belgium and his consort, Queen Fabiola, rushed to the scene of the disaster and provided comfort to the families of the local farmers who had died and been injured.

The exact cause of the crash was never determined beyond a reasonable doubt, but investigators suspected that the aircraft may have been brought down by a failure of the stabilizer adjusting mechanism.

Members of the 1961 United States Figure Skating team, about to board the plane in New York.
Members of the 1961 United States Figure Skating team, about to board the plane in New York.

All 18 athletes of the 1961 U.S. figure skating team and 16 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's champion Bradley Lord, U.S. men's silver medalist Gregory Kelley, U.S. ladies' silver medalist Stephanie Westerfeld, U.S. ladies' bronze medalist Rhode Lee Michelson and U.S. ice dancing champions Diane 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.

American President John F. Kennedy issued a statement of condolence from the White House. He was particularly shocked by the disaster. One of the skaters killed in the crash, Dudley Richards, was a personal friend of Pres. Kennedy and his brother Ted Kennedy from summers spent at Hyannis Port, Massachusetts.


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. The United States would not be dominant again in this sport until the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France, where Peggy Fleming won the ladies' event.

Members of the USFSA and their family members who were killed in the crash:

  • Julian Baginski
  • Pierre Balteau
  • Germaine Berbruggen
  • Jean Berbruggen
  • Father Otmar Boesch
  • Alexander Dayton
  • Mercellin Deprince
  • Iris Duke
  • Linda Foster
  • Dorice Herring
  • Maurice Herring
  • Jacob Hershkowicz
  • Harold Kellett
  • Juanita Lemoine
  • Howard Lillie
  • Vanessa Maes
  • Victor Maes
  • Francisco Medina
  • Herbert Myers
  • Franz Offergelt
  • Margaret Pozzuolo
  • Jacqueline Robinson
  • Richard Robinson
  • Robert Raulier
  • Max Silverstein
  • Martin Soria
  • Private First Class Robert Stopp
  • Dominique Vernier
  • George Young

  • Pierre van den Busche
  • Marcel DeMayer
  • Lucien Eduwaere
  • Paul Evos
  • Jean Kint
  • Louis Lambrechts
  • Jacqueline Rombaut
  • Jean Roy
  • Jacqueline Trullemans
  • Henri Vernimmen
  • Robert Voleppe

  • "Shattered Dreams," Boston Globe, December 29, 2000, p. E16.
  • Nichols, Nikki. Frozen in Time: The Enduring Legacy of the 1961 U.S. Figure Skating Team. Emmis Books, 2006. ISBN 1-57860-260-2.

  1. ^ Three 707s had crashed previously during training or test flights.

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