The Patriot Files Forums - 1961 - An Olympic Tragedy

Sabena Flight 548 crashed on landing approach to Brussels, Belgium, on February 15, 1961, killing all 72 persons on board as well as one person on the ground. The crash was the first one involving a Boeing 707, but it was notable because the dead included the entire United States Figure Skating team who were en route to the 1961 World Championships in Prague, Czechoslovakia.

The plane had departed from Idlewild Airport in New York City. There was no indication of trouble on board the plane until it approached the Brussels airport. The pilot had to circle the airport while waiting for a small plane to clear the runway, then, according to eyewitnesses, the plane began to climb and bank erratically and crashed suddenly in a field near the hamlet of Berg. The exact cause of the crash was never determined, although the FAA reported that the most likely hypothesis was failure of the stabilizer adjusting mechanism.

All 18 athletes of the 1961 U.S. World Figure Skating team and numerous family members, coaches, and officials died in the crash. The dead included, most notably, former 9-time U.S. ladies champion and 1932 Olympic medalist Maribel Vinson-Owen (50) and her two daughters, reigning U.S. ladies champion Laurence Owen (16) and reigning U.S. pairs champion Maribel Y. Owen (21). The loss of the U.S. team was considered so catastrophic for the sport that the 1961 World Championships were cancelled.

Who was lost -

Men:

Bradley Lord
U.S. men's champion, North American silver medalist

Gregory Kelley
Runner-up men's champion, North American bronze medalist

Douglas Ramsay
Fourth place U.S. and North American championships
(Ramsay was assigned to the team as an alternate for U.S. bronze medalist Tim Brown, who cancelled the trip due to an illness)

Ladies:

Laurence R. Owen
U.S. and North American ladies champion, 1960 Olympic and World competitor

Stephanie Westerfeld
Runner-up U.S. ladies champion

Rhode Lee Michelson
U.S. ladies bronze medalist

Pairs:

Maribel Y. Owen (sister of Laurence) and Dudley Richards
U.S. pairs champions, North American silver medalists

Ila Ray Hadley and Ray Hadley (brother and sister)
U.S. pairs silver medalists, members of the 1960 Olympic and World teams

Laurie Hickox and William Hickox (brother and sister)
U.S. pairs bronze medalists

Ice Dancing:

Diane C. Sherbloom and Larry Pierce
U.S. dance champions

Dona Lee Carrier and Roger Campbell
U.S. and North American dance silver medalists

Patricia and Robert Dineen (husband and wife)
Third place U.S. dance medalists

Coaches:

Maribel V. Owen
1932 Olympic Medalist with 9 World titles.
Coach to daughters Laurence and Maribel Y. Owen

Linda Hadley
Coach and mother to Ila Ray Hadley and Ray Hadley

Edi Scholdan
William Kipp (coach to Peggy Fleming)

Daniel Ryan

William Swallender

Officials and Judges:

Walter S. Powell
International referee and member of the International Skating
Union Executive Committee

Harold Hartshorne
Former national dance champion and world judge

Deane E. McMinn
Team manager, International and Olympic judge

Edward LeMaire
National judge and former champion

Every 1960 medalist - Carol Heiss, David Jenkins, Barbara Ann Roles, Nancy and Ron Ludington - had moved on. Their successors -- Laurence Owen, Bradley Lord, Maribel Y. Owen, Dudley Richards - would have been the core of the 1964 Olympic team.

The Olympic talent lost in this crash is almost incomprehensible.