On 6 February 1958, an airliner carrying Manchester United players and officials home from a European Cup quarter-final match against Red Star Belgrade crashed after re-fuelling in Munich. The incident resulted in the deaths of 23 passengers, including eight of the famous ‘Busby Babes’ Manchester United team.

Geoff Bent
Roger Byrne
Eddie Colman
Duncan Edwards (survived the crash but died in hospital 15 days later)
Mark Jones
David Pegg
Tommy Taylor
Liam 'Billy' Whelan

Roger Byrne, Duncan Edwards, and Tommy Taylor were established English internationals, and many feel that Eddie Colman, Mark Jones, and David Pegg would have been on the England team at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden and that they could have played for England for many years

Johnny Berry and Jackie Blanchflower survived but never played again

Dennis Viollet Ray Wood Bobby Charlton Bill Foulkes Harry Gregg Kenny Morgans and Albert Scanlon all survived the crash and continued their careers.

Other victims
Walter Crickmer - Club secretary
Bert Whalley - Chief coach
Tom Curry - Trainer
Alf Clarke - Journalist, Manchester Evening Chronicle
Don Davies - Journalist, Manchester Guardian
George Follows - Journalist, Daily Herald
Tom Jackson - Journalist, Manchester Evening News
Archie Ledbrooke - Journalist, Daily Mirror
Henry Rose - Journalist, Daily Express
Eric Thompson - Journalist, Daily Mail
Frank Swift - Journalist, News of the World (also former England and Manchester City goalkeeper)
Captain Kenneth "Ken" Rayment - British co-pilot who survived the crash but suffered multiple injuries and died three weeks later as a result of brain damage.
Bela Miklos - Travel agent
Willie Satinoff - Supporter, racecourse owner and close friend of Matt Busby
Tom Cable - Steward

I realize that this does not mean as much to fans of other teams, but the Munich Air Crash helped to create a ‘collective memory’ of Munich for United supporters, which continues to define who we are and what the club represents.

For many Manchester United fans, keeping the memory of Munich alive is a major part of our support for United. We share in the memory of the loss and the rebuilding of the team and believe that it helps defines the history of the football club, and thereby helps United fans understand where their club came from and where it is going. Munich for many United supporters is more than an historical event, it is something we live with all the time, and to become a true United fan it needs to be understood and remembered.

On February 10th 2008, United is playing host to Manchester City, which I think is fitting, since this was a tragedy that was felt throughout the city of Manchester, whether you wore Blue or Red. One of the other victims was Frank Swift, a Journalist, with the News of the World and a former England and Manchester City goalkeeper. City players came into training with black ties and tears in their eyes the day after the disaster. The then Manchester City goalkeeper Steve Fleet was Eddie Colman's best friend and was to be his best man at his wedding later that year, instead he had to tell his fiancée and Colman's family that he had died.

A minute of silence will be held prior to kick off at Old Trafford. There has been talk of a minute of applause, but I think that is inappropriate. The silence commemorates the event; a minute of applause would celebrate the individuals involved. This is not an occasion to celebrate, it's a solemn event and it should be respected by silence not applause. Hopefully the City fans at Old Trafford will respect the occasion and the service will go off without incident.

Its right that this terrible part of Man Utd history should never be forgotton. The loss of so many fine young players at the time when many believed the side would dominate domestic football was a awful blow to the club. I remember my Grandfather telling me about the strong boy in Man Utd's midfield who was lost in the air crash. Duncan Edwards he would say.... would have been able to play in any era so advanced he was from the other players of his time.

As much as the loss of life and disaster this was back in 1958, it has shaped Manchester United into the club it is and the following it gained throughout the country as people mourned for the players n club.

What isnt rememberd so much in this country is the fact this was the second club to lose so many lives to a aircrash. Il Grande Torino, or in English "The Great Torino" were the kings of European football in the 40's who's many records still stand today in Italian domestic football. They lost their entire senior playing staff when the plane they were traveling in on return from playing a friendly in Benfica (I think) flew into a hill in Turin.

These two arnt alone in the football aircrash disasters. Many Surinamese players mainly based in Holland (Ken Monkou of Chelsea was supposed to be on the flight but Chelsea manager of the time Bobby Campbell stopped him from going) were killed when their flight crashed on landing in Surinam.

The Zambian national team were all killed when their plane crashed after engine problems and pilot error in 1994.