Sabena Flight 548

Sabena Flight 548, registration OO-SJB, was a Boeing 707 aircraft en route from New York International Airport (later renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport) to Brussels, Belgium's Zaventem Airport on February 15, 1961. The flight crashed during the approach for landing. All 72 on board were killed, as well as one person on the ground. The crash was the first fatal accident involving a Boeing 707 in regular passenger service. Among the dea... more

Sabena Flight 548, registration OO-SJB, was a Boeing 707 aircraft en route from New York International Airport (later renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport) to Brussels, Belgium's Zaventem Airport on February 15, 1961. The flight crashed during the approach for landing. All 72 on board were killed, as well as one person on the ground. The crash was the first fatal accident involving a Boeing 707 in regular passenger service. Among the dead were the entire United States Figure Skating team, who were en route to the 1961 World Championships in Prague, Czechoslovakia. 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 wreckage burst into flames. All aboard were killed instantly. A farmer working in the fields... less