Munich Air Disaster to Kobe Bryant’s helicopter crash, 6 biggest aviation disasters in sports
From the Munich Air Disaster to Kobe Bryant’s helicopter crash, here is a list of the six biggest aviation disasters in sports also including the Chapecoense plane crash, the Zambia national football team plane crash and others.
1. Munich Air Disaster (1958)
The Munich air disaster occurred on 6 February 1958, when British European Airways Flight 609 crashed on its third attempt to take off at Munich-Riem Airport in Munich carrying a group of Manchester United players on their way back from a European Cup contest. A total of 23 fatalities were reported, with 21 survivors in the unfortunate incident.
2. Kobe Bryant helicopter crash (2020)
On January 26, 2020, a Sikorsky S-76B helicopter crashed in the city of Calabasas, California which killed NBA legend Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna; baseball coach John Altobelli, his wife Keri, and his daughter Alyssa; Sarah Chester and her daughter Payton; basketball coach Christina Mauser; and the pilot, Ara Zobayan.
3. Chapecoense plane crash (2016)
LaMia Flight 2933 was a charter flight of an Avro RJ85, operated by LaMia, that on 28 November 2016 crashed near Medellín, Colombia, killing 71 of the 77 people on board. The aircraft was transporting the first-team squad of Brazilian football club Chapecoense and their entourage from Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, to Medellín, where the team was scheduled to play at the 2016 Copa Sudamericana Finals.
4. Zambia national football team plane crash (1993)
On the evening of 27 April 1993, a DHC-5 Buffalo transport aircraft of the Zambian Air Force crashed into the Atlantic Ocean shortly after taking off from Libreville, Gabon. The flight was carrying most of the Zambia national football team to a 1994 FIFA World Cup Qualifier against Senegal in Dakar. All 25 passengers and five crew members were killed.
5. University of Evansville basketball team (1977)
The entire team (save one player) and coaching staff, along with members of the press, boosters, and plane crew, were all killed in a crash shortly after takeoff from Evansville en route to a game against Middle Tennessee State University. The sole team member who did not board the plane died in a car crash two weeks later.
6. US Figure Skating Team (1961)
The entire team was killed while en route to the World Figure Skating Championships in Prague, Czechoslovakia. Likely mechanical failure during the plane's landing approach.
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