In Memoriam: 14 Fatal Sports Plane Crashes

Sports create connections. When a team plays well together, many attribute the success to the chemistry between the players. When that chemistry comes to a premature end, the shockwaves are felt across countries.

With the recent crash of the Lokomotiv ice hockey team, we wanted to remember previous incidents to honor those athletes who have passed before their time.

Date: 4/28/1993
Crash Site: Libreville, Gabon

En route to a 1994 World Cup qualification match in Senegal, a Buffalo military plane carrying the Zambia national team crashed into the Atlantic. According to a report from the Gabonese Ministry of Defence, there was an engine failure shortly after takeoff from Libreville. Subsequently, the pilot turned off the wrong engine causing the entire plane to lose power and quickly drop altitude into the water. Eighteen players were killed.

Date: 12/8/1987
Crash Site: Lima, Peru

Just six miles from its landing point, the Peruvian Navy Fokker F27-400M holding the team miscalculated the landing and dove straight into the Pacific Ocean. Only the pilot survived the tragedy, of which investigation reports cite a lack of night-flying experience and a mishandling of emergency procedures. Sixteen players were killed.

Date: 3/14/1980
Crash Site: Warsaw, Poland

Due to a mechanical failure, LOT Polish Airlines Flight 007 crashed into a military moat after aborting an attempted landing, just narrowly missing a teenage correctional facility. Fourteen athletes were killed.

Date: 12/13/1977
Crash Site: Evansville, Indiana

The DC-3 aircraft holding the Evansville team attempted lift off in dense fog and rain, but failed to maintain stability and crashed in a nearby field. The one player that was unable to attend the game and subsequently not on the plane perished in an automobile accident shortly after the crash. Fourteen players and one coach were killed.

Date: 10/11/1972
Crash Site: Chile

Flying through the Andes in Chile, this Uruguayan Air Force twin turboprop Fairchild FH-227D clipped two peaks, leaving the the aircraft wingless as it fell through the sky and skid to a halt in the mountains. After two of the survivors made the 10-day hike to civilization, rescuers found the remaining survivors and airlifted them to nearby hospitals. It was later confirmed that the survivors had resorted to cannibalism in order to keep from dying of hunger. 30 players were killed.

Date: 11/14/1970
Crash Site: Huntington, West Virginia

After a 17-14 loss to East Carolina the Marshall team was flying home in a Southern Airways DC-9. Cruising at a low altitude due to poor weather, the aircraft hit hillside treetops and went into a nosedive. The plane was engulfed in flames, creating an unsurvivable wreck. Thirty-six athletes perished.

Date: 10/2/1970
Crash Site: Clear Creek County, Colo.

One of two planes transporting the players to their upcoming game against Utah State, the Martin 4-0-4 took an alternate scenic route over the Rockies. Unable to gain enough altitude, the "Gold" plane carrying the starters and coaches clipped trees and spun into the side of the mountains; fourteen players were killed.

Date: 9/26/1969
Crash Site: Viloco, Bolivia

On September 24, 1969, a departmental holiday in Bolivia, the Bolivian team was asked to play in a postseason game organized by the Asociacion Cruceña de Futbol. Two days later, the team's plane was missing. Reports eventually came out that the plane had crashed in a rural area called Viloco. Twenty-five players died.

Date: 4/28/1968
Crash Site: Beaumont, Texas

On an early morning return flight from the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa, 5 team members and coach Ty Terrell died when their plane malfunctioned and crashed just before landing.

Date: 2/16/1961
Crash Site: Brussels, Belgium
Death Toll: 18, 32 total

On the way to the 1961 World Championships in Prague, Czechoslovakia, this Boeing 707 appeared to lose stability just before attempting its landing, causing a crash in a nearby field. The plane exploded and burst into flames on contact, killing eighteen members of the team.

Date: 10/10/1960
Crash Site: Toledo, Ohio

During takeoff, the twin-engine C-46 prop liner, an old World War II machine, split into two pieces mid-air and was sent into a blaze when it hit ground. Investigations later determined that the plane had been overpacked more than 2,000 pounds above the certified maximum weight. Additionally, it was revealed that there was a partial power loss in the left engine. Sixteen members of the team died.

Date: 2/6/1958
Crash Site: Munich, Germany

After making a stop at the Munich-Riem Airport for refueling, the pilot of the British European Airways Flight 609 attempted three departures in snowy air conditions. On the third try, a build up of slush on the runway prevented the plane from reaching a steady velocity for takeoff and the plane crashed into a house. Eight members of the club died.

Date: 5/4/1949
Crash Site: Turin, Italy
Death Toll: 22

Due to a thunderstorm in the flightpath, the Italian Airlines Fiat G212CP aircraft flew low in attempt to seek better visibility for landing. Due to the low clouds and quick descent, the plane hit a wall of the Basilica complex of Superga. Twenty-two soccer players died.

Date: 9/7/2011
Crash Site: Yaroslavl, Russia

The Yak-42 jet that was carrying the entire Lokomotiv Russian hockey team, multiple NHL veterans, and several other European players crashed shortly after takeoff into the bank of the Volga River. According to the Associated Press, the plane was having trouble gaining altitude before it hit a signal tower, ripping it into several broken pieces. Forty-three team members died.