The Munich Air Disaster

On 6 February 1958, British European Airways flight 609 crashed in a blizzard on its third attempt to take off from an ice- and slush-covered runway at Munich Airport. The crash claimed the lives of twenty-three passengers and crew including eight Manchester United footballers.

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The German inquiry blamed the accident on pilot error. However, this book establishes beyond any question that this was not so. Based on his enormous technical knowledge of aircraft accident investigation, years of research and interviews with those involved, the author shows that the pilot, Captain James Thain, performed heroically and was shamefully treated by the aviation authorities for many years.




Munich swept away a generation of gifted footballers including the legendary Duncan Edwards, Tommy Taylor, Roger Byrne, David Pegg, and Liam Whelan from Dublin. Stephen Morrin’s authoritative book is a story of tragedy, a pilot’s heroism in adversity, legal treachery and one of the defining moments in the Manchester United story. It was a sporting disaster that gave birth to a legend — a legend which fifty years later shows no sign of diminishing.