On February 6, 1958 at around 3:03 p.m. after a refueling stop in Munich-Riem, the BEA flight 609, the Airspeed AS 57 Ambassador G-ALZU 'Lord Burghley', crashed on the charter flight from Belgrade to Manchester. That Air accident made sad history as “Munich Air Disaster” or “Munich Air Crash”.

After the scheduled refueling stop at Munich-Riem Airport, flight captain James Thain and co-pilot Ken Rayment noticed irregular boost pressure in both engines during the first two take-off attempts and broke off both take-off attempts.

On the third attempt to take off, the aircraft rolled onto the runway again with the engines running smoothly. After the speed had been reached at 117 knots at which the take-off could no longer be safely aborted due to the lack of remaining braking distance, the aircraft's speed suddenly dropped to 105 knots. 119 knots would have been required for a safe launch. Because the speed was too low for take-off, the AS 57 slipped over the end of the runway, broke through the boundary fence of the airport and grazed a neighboring house with its left wing. It is believed that the slush on the runway prevented them from reaching the necessary speed.

The accident killed 23 of 44 people on board, including eight Manchester United football players. The resident of the house survived with her three children.

After the “Munich Air Disaster”, the security areas behind the runway had to be enlarged at all German airports.

Frequently asked questions about the “Munich Air Disaster” answered briefly