Sports stars who died from helicopter and plane crashes

The sporting world has been repeatedly devastated by aviation disasters claiming the lives of beloved athletes, coaches and entire teams.

These tragic accidents have left lasting scars on fans and changed the course of sporting history.

Pulse Ghana lists some of these tragic helicopter and plane crashes that took the lives of sports personalities.

Team Tragedies

The 1958 Munich Air Disaster

The darkest day in Manchester United's history occurred on 6 February 1958, when their aircraft crashed during takeoff at Munich airport. The team was returning from a European Cup tie against Red Star Belgrade when they stopped in Germany to refuel.

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After two aborted takeoff attempts, the third proved fatal when the plane crashed, killing 23 people including eight United players and three staff members. The victims included promising talents like Duncan Edwards, considered one of his generation's finest players, who died 15 days after the accident.

Players Geoff Bent (25), Roger Byrne (28), Eddie Colman (21), Mark Jones (24), David Pegg (22), Tommy Taylor (26) and Liam Whelan (22) also perished, alongside secretary Walter Crickmer, trainer Tom Curry and coach Bert Whalley. The disaster devastated English football and remains forever etched in United's history.

Marshall University Football Team (1970)

The deadliest sports-related plane crash in US history struck on November 14, 1970, when a chartered DC-9 carrying 36 Marshall University football players crashed into a hillside in Huntington, West Virginia.

The disaster killed 75 people total, including 39 coaches, support staff and crew members returning from a game against East Carolina. Their story was immortalised in the 2006 film "We Are Marshall."

University of Evansville Basketball Team (1977)

The entire Evansville Purple Aces basketball squad, including all 14 players and head coach Bobby Watson, died when their DC-3 crashed during takeoff on December 13, 1977. The plane was bound for Nashville and a game against Middle Tennessee, but never made it off the ground at Evansville Regional Airport.

US Figure Skating Team (1961)

American figure skating suffered a devastating blow on February 15, 1961, when the entire US national team perished in a plane crash in Belgium. The athletes were travelling to the world championships in Prague, Czechoslovakia, when tragedy struck.

Torino Football Club (1949)

Italian football was forever changed on May 4, 1949, when Serie A giants Torino lost 22 members, including 18 players, in a plane crash near Turin. The four-time league champions saw most of their senior squad wiped out in one horrific moment.

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Baseball Heroes

Roberto Clemente (1972)

Pittsburgh Pirates legend Roberto Clemente was killed on New Year's Eve 1972 while on a humanitarian mission. The 15-time All-Star was delivering earthquake relief supplies to Nicaragua when his plane plummeted into the Atlantic Ocean shortly after takeoff from Puerto Rico. The 38-year-old had just collected his 3,000th career hit and was posthumously elected to the Hall of Fame in 1973.

Roy Halladay (2017)

Two-time Cy Young Award winner Roy Halladay died on November 7, 2017, when his single-engine plane crashed into the Gulf of Mexico. The retired pitcher, who finished his career with 203 wins and 2,117 strikeouts, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2019.

Thurman Munson (1979)

New York Yankees catcher and 1976 AL MVP Thurman Munson was piloting his private jet when it crashed near his Canton, Ohio home on August 2, 1979. He was just 32 years old.

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Motor Racing Disasters

Davey Allison and Alan Kulwicki (1993)

NASCAR suffered a double blow in 1993, losing two champions within months. Alan Kulwicki, the 1992 series champion, died on April 1, when his plane crashed en route to Bristol, Tennessee. Three months later, Daytona 500 champion Davey Allison was killed on July 13, when the helicopter he was piloting crashed at Talladega Superspeedway.

Boxing and Golf

Rocky Marciano (1969)

The undefeated heavyweight champion died on August 31, 1969, when his private plane crashed near Newton, Iowa. Marciano, who retired with a perfect 49-0 record, was travelling to Des Moines to celebrate his 46th birthday.

Payne Stewart (1999)

Three-time major champion golfer Payne Stewart was among six people killed when their private jet lost cabin pressure and crashed in South Dakota on October 25, 1999, just months after winning the US Open.

These tragedies serve as stark reminders of aviation's risks and the fragility of life, even for sporting superstars.

Kobe Bryant (2020)

Another shocking aviation tragedy in recent memory occurred when NBA icon Kobe Bryant perished alongside his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others in a helicopter crash on January 26, 2020.

The 41-year-old Lakers legend, a five-time NBA champion and the league's fourth all-time leading scorer, was posthumously inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021.

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Emiliano Sala

The 28-year-old Argentine forward lost his life on January 21, 2019, when his small aircraft went down in the English Channel. Sala was travelling from France to meet his new Cardiff City teammates following his record-breaking £15million transfer from Nantes just two days earlier. The single-engine Piper PA-46 Malibu also claimed the life of 59-year-old pilot David Ibbotson in the crash.

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