The
Munich Air
Disaster, as it came to be known, was a 1958
plane crash that killed 23, mostly players and staff of
Manchester United Football Club (
MUFC).
Manchester United was returning to England after a road match with Red Star Belgrade in the quarterfinals of the 1958 European Cup. The plane stopped and refueled in snowy Munich. On takeoff, the plane didn't get lift, and crashed. 21 died at the scene, with 2 others passing away days later (20 passengers survived). 8 Manchester United players, 8 journalists, and several ManU staff members were among the victims.
Many consider the air crash to be a sort of foundation upon which Manchester United built the team over the next few decades into an England and global powerhouse.