One of the biggest disasters in motorsport history. The most tragic plane crashes involving teams of athletes. Maria de Vilotta accident
Accident with Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR: 83 victims
On June 11, 1955, at 6.26 p.m., the worst tragedy in motorsport history occurred. At the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans race, at the end of the 35th lap, a Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR driven by French driver Pierre Levegh crashed into the grandstand at full speed. The car was torn to pieces, its engine and other parts flying straight into the fans, and as a result of this accident, 82 people and the driver himself were killed.
Le Mans racing was founded by 82-year-old Charles Faro, and he was the chief judge on that ill-fated day. How unpleasant the man felt when he saw such a picture, especially at the end of his life; two years later he was gone. It was difficult to come to terms with the fact that it was at the races he created that this terrible disaster occurred.
Restoration of events
Cameras captured the moment Mike Hawthorn, who was driving a Jaguar D-Type, suddenly decided to go into the pit lane and left no room for Lance McLean's car. Then McLean tried to go around Hawthorne, but unsuccessfully moved to the left and cut off Mercedes Levega. I would like to note that seat belts were not used at that time; they began to be used in the 60s, but not only this fact could have caused the death of the racer. After that, the Mercedes took off over the track, flew over the fence and flew straight into the stands with spectators. This picture was scary to look at, the wreckage of the car fell on people, then the fuel tank exploded and a serious fire broke out. The flames intensified due to the fact that they began to extinguish the magnesium body of the Mercedes. The fire lasted for several hours and many spectators did not even understand what had happened; the competition did not stop so as not to cause panic. By that time, it was necessary to provide access roads for ambulances.
The incident was also witnessed by one of the riders, Juan Manuel Fangio, who was at that moment behind Levegh, Hawthorne and McLean. He said that Levegh understood everything that was happening, but could no longer do anything, so he waved his hand at him. Fangio managed to brake, which served as his salvation. The chief of the racing team, Alfred Neubauer, who invited Levegh to participate in these competitions, upon hearing the first data on the number of deaths, immediately removed the cars from his team. At this time Fangio was in the lead, but that was no longer important. As a result, Mike Hawthorne became the winner of the 1955 Le Mans race.
After this ridiculous and terrible story, other competitions were cancelled, including four Formula 1 races. In Switzerland, a law was passed banning competitions involving motor vehicles. And the Mercedes-Benz team left motorsport for a long time, until 1987. Only on June 7, 2007, the ban was partially lifted, but racing at the Grand Prix in Switzerland is still prohibited. What caused such an accident remains a mystery to us; according to one version it was a conspiracy, according to another it was simply an accident.
"Torino", 1949
The Torino football club of the 1940s was a super club of the Italian championship. From 1946 to 1948, he won gold medals at the national championship three times. On May 3, 1949, a match took place in Portugal between the Torino and Benfica teams, in which the Italian team lost to the Portuguese club with a score of 3:4. The next day, the Torino team took off from Lisbon on a three-engine Fiat G.212CP aircraft. On board there were 18 football players, crew, club managers and journalists, a total of 31 people.
The plane made an intermediate stop in Barcelona to refuel, where the Torino players met their rival friends from Milan. The Milanese were transferring on a flight to Madrid and were the last to see the Turin residents alive. At about five o'clock in the evening, when there was very little left to the city of Turin, the plane entered an area of increased fog, which caused the pilot to lose orientation in space. The plane's left wing touched the fence of the Superga basilica built on a hill, it spun around and crashed into the ground at high speed. All passengers on board died. There was a stroke of luck here for one of the players - Lauro Toma stayed at home and did not fly to the match with Benfica due to injury.
The Torino players posthumously became champions of Italy.
Air Force, 1950
January 7, 1950 created by Vasily Stalin hockey team The air force crashed near Koltsovo airport near Sverdlovsk. In difficult weather conditions (blizzard, strong wind), the plane crashed. On board were 11 hockey players, a doctor and a massage therapist from the Air Force team, who were heading to Chelyabinsk for a match with the local Dzerzhinets, as well as 6 crew members. All 19 people died. By a lucky coincidence, the future captain of the USSR national football and hockey teams, Vsevolod Bobrov, was late for this plane. There are different versions of this delay: evil tongues said that the great athlete drank too much, and Bobrov himself nodded at his brother, who set the alarm clock incorrectly.
Manchester United, 1958
On February 6, 1958, not only England, but the whole world was shocked by the tragedy that happened to one of the best teams in the world - Manchester United, nicknamed the "Busby Babes". Football players, coaches, several fans and journalists were returning from a Cup match European champions in Belgrade. The plane of the British company British European Airways was refueling in Munich.
Pilots James Thain and Kenneth Rayment made two takeoff attempts, but canceled both due to increased vibrations. Not wanting to fall too far behind schedule, Captain Thain refused to stay in Munich overnight, opting to make a third takeoff attempt. It turned out to be fatal. The plane crashed through a fence at the end of the runway and crashed into a residential building. In this disaster, 23 people out of 44 on board died. The wounded were taken to a Munich hospital.
By the way, 22-year-old Whelan Liam, climbing the ramp before takeoff, pointed out to his comrades the heavy snowfall and said: “We will probably die, but I’m ready for this.” And Bobby Charlton, who survived this disaster, became the world champion 8 years later. 10 years after the disaster, Thain was completely acquitted.
USA national team figure skating, 1961
On February 15, 1961, a Sabena Boeing 707 flying from JFK Airport in New York crashed while landing in the Belgian capital Brussels. All 72 people were killed, as well as one person on the ground. Among the dead was the US figure skating team (34 athletes), which was heading to the World Championships in Prague. This plane crash led to the cancellation of the World Figure Skating Championships as a sign of mourning for the victims.
"Pakhtakor", 1979
This is one of the worst disasters in aviation history. That day at 13.35 in the sky in the area Dneprodzerzhinsk At an altitude of 8400 meters, two Aeroflot Tu-134As collided, killing all 178 people on board.
Among the dead were 17 members of the Uzbek football club"Pakhtakor", including 14 players, an administrator, a second coach and a doctor. The team flew from Tashkent to Minsk. After the plane crash, the club's roster was strengthened with players from other teams. Also, by the decision of the USSR Football Federation, Pakhtakor was guaranteed a place in the major league regardless of the final result.
Holland national football team, 1989
On June 7, 1989, a Surinam Airways DC-8-62 crashed during landing in the Paramaribo area. 176 people died in the incident, 11 people survived. Among the dead were 14 Dutch football players of Surinamese origin, a coach, and the mother and sister of one of the athletes. They were flying to Suriname to participate in a tournament with three clubs. The plane took off from Amsterdam on June 6 at 23.25 local time. During the four-hour flight there were no emergency situations on board. During the landing approach, the pilot team received a weather report about favorable weather conditions at the arrival airport. During landing, the pilots made a mistake, as a result of which, at an altitude of 25 meters, the right wing of the plane caught a tree.
By the way, many Dutch players were not allowed to fly due to preparations for the upcoming season. Among the survivors are Ruud Gullit, Frank Rijkaard, Aron Winter, Brian Roy and some others.
Zambia national football team, 1993
On April 27, 1993, a plane crashed 500 meters off the coast of the city of Libreville, the capital of Gabon. On board was most of the Zambian national football team, en route to a 1994 World Cup qualifying match against Senegal. All 30 people on board (crew, 18 players, coach and maintenance staff) died in the disaster. As a result, the weakened team took only second place in Group 2 of the final stage of the qualifying matches.
During the first stop in Brazzaville, problems were discovered with the left engine, but the pilot decided to continue the flight. A few minutes after takeoff from Libreville, the left engine caught fire and stopped. The pilot stopped the right engine, the plane completely lost thrust and fell into the water about 500 meters from the coast.
"Lokomotiv", 2011
Exactly two years ago it happened terrible tragedy. The Lokomotiv hockey team from Yaroslavl flew from Tunoshna airport to Minsk, where they were supposed to play with the local Dynamo. The Yak-42 plane crashed after flying only 2.5 kilometers after takeoff. According to another version, the plane did not have enough runway. There were 45 people on board the liner: 37 passengers (crew and escort) and 8 crew members. 43 people died on the spot.
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Lokomotiv hockey players who died in the plane crash [by name]. On September 7, the Yaroslavl hockey team “Lokomotiv” was involved in a plane crash. The Yak-42 plane, on which the Yaroslavl hockey players were flying to Minsk, where they were supposed to play with the local Dynamo, fell from a height of 500 meters immediately after takeoff. In total there were 45 people on board, 37 of them were hockey players. Antonina PANOVA
The whole country prayed for the health of hockey player Alexander Galimov, but a miracle did not happen; on September 12, he died at the Vishnevsky Institute of Surgery. Only flight engineer Alexander Sizov was able to survive this terrible disaster. By chance, two people who were supposed to go to Minsk along with everyone else were not on board. Forward Maxim Zyuzyakin and goalkeeper coach Jorma Valtonen were left in Yaroslavl to work with the youth team.
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Reconstruction of the Yak-42 plane crash. On September 7, the Yaroslavl hockey team “Lokomotiv” was involved in a plane crash. The Yak-42 plane, on which the Yaroslavl hockey players were flying to Minsk, where they were supposed to play with the local Dynamo, fell from a height of 500 meters immediately after takeoff. In total there were 45 people on board, of which 37 were hockey players
5 more major disasters:
Hockey
On April 1, 1970, an Aeroflot An-24B crashed in the Novosibirsk region, killing 45 people, including a youth hockey team that was flying to a game in the Golden Puck tournament.
Basketball
On August 24, 2008, an ITEK AIR Boeing 737-219 Advanced crashed. Among the passengers was the Kyrgyz youth basketball team, heading to Tehran to participate in competitions. Ten crew members were killed, seven survived.
Rugby
On October 13, 1972, a Fairchild Hiller FH-227 aircraft » The Uruguayan Air Force, operating a flight from Montevideo to Santiago de Chile, crashed into a mountain slope in the Chilean Andes at an altitude of 4000 meters. There were 45 passengers on board, including the Old Christians Club rugby team from Montevideo, Uruguay. Most of the passengers died. There was no food on board. As a result, 16 people rescued on December 26 survived. One of the documented cases of cannibalism in the modern world. The events are also shown in the film "Alive" (1993).
American football
On November 14, 1970, near Tri-State Airport in Ceredo, Flight 932's collision with a mountain kills 75 people, including 37 members of the Marshall University team.
Motorsport
Death of the Embassy Hill Racing Formula 1 team - On November 29, 1975, Graham Hill's Embassy Hill Racing team, returning from the Paul Ricard circuit, France, in a six-seater Piper Aztec aircraft, crashed in England while trying to make an emergency landing in the conditions heavy fog. Almost the entire crew died in this plane crash. At the helm was Graham Hill himself, along with him on the plane were Tony Brize, a promising British racer, team manager Ray Brimble, mechanics Tony Alcock and Terry Richards, and designer Andy Smallman.
“, the site brings to your attention the 10 most terrible accidents that took place in world motorsport.
1. Formula 1. 1994 Grand Prix of San Marino. AyrtonSenna
The Imola stage was perhaps the saddest for all Formula 1 fans. In 1994, during a racing weekend, two drivers died at once, one of whom was three-time world champion Ayrton Senna. There are still many rumors and versions about the reasons for the tragic death of the “Brazilian Wizard”, and the section of the route called “Tamburello” has long become synonymous with danger and fear for all pilots. The story of the tragedy caused a reassessment of the safety standards of the “royal racing” and cut short the magnificent career of one of the best pilots in the history of motorsport.
2. "24 Hours of Le Mans". 1955 Pierre Levegh
The accident, which resulted in the death of Mercedes pilot Pierre Levegh and 82 spectators of the competition, occurred in 1955 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans series. The German car, having flown into the gravel fence, took off into the air and flew straight into the spectator stands, where a hail of car debris fell on the spectators. After this accident, the German concern left motorsport for almost 40 years.
3. Formula 1. year 2001. Australian Grand Prix. Jacques Villeneuve and Ralf Schumacher
The accident in 2001 at the Australian Grand Prix was overshadowed not even by the collision between the 1997 world champion and the brother of the “great and terrible” Schumacher, but by the subsequent tragedy, which was caused by... a wheel from a Canadian racing car. As a result of the collision between two racers, a wheel flew off Villeneuve’s car, which flew off at breakneck speed and hit the track marshal, who was responsible for the safety of the race. As a result strong blow an employee of the race track died.
4. Indy 500 1964 Dave McDonald
The debut race for Ford driver Dave McDonald will be remembered for a long time. As a result of brake failure, the driver's car crashed into the concrete barrier of the track at high speed, which caused the car to catch fire. Huge clubs smoke filled the entire track, blocking the view of the rest of the race participants. Having lost their visual references, many riders found themselves in a massive jam. The organizers of the competition had to stop and postpone the race for three and a half hours.
5. NHRA 2005 year. Scott Kalit
In addition to the main racing series, very unusual racing disciplines are also rich in incidents. In 2005, during qualifying races, Toyota driver Scott Kalit, driving at a speed of 450 km/h, did not notice the spontaneous combustion of his own car. The resulting flames destroyed the brake parachutes and the driver's car flew into a gravel trap at the end of the track. As a result of his injuries, Kalit died in the hospital.
6. Formula 1. 2010 European Grand Prix. Mark Webber.
The European Grand Prix, held in Valencia, Spain, clearly demonstrated the latest safety achievements in the “royal races”. Red Bull driver Mark Webber, circling his Lotus (now Caterham) opponent Heikki Kovalainen, hooked the rear axle of the Finn's car and soared into the sunny Spanish sky. Taught by the bitter experience of the past, the automobile association, which is responsible for the safety of racers, proved that it was not functioning in vain - just two hours after the accident, Webber posed for photographs.
7. Formula 1. 1976 Nürburgring. Niki Lauda.
Three-time world champion Niki Lauda, like his colleagues from other automotive sports disciplines, “marked” himself with a burning car during the race. Having lost control, the driver's car hit the side railing of the track at high speed, as a result of which the car was quickly engulfed in flames, turning the Ferrari into a fireball in a matter of seconds. It is worth noting the courage of the Austrian - after the accident, the driver personally went out onto the track and warned his rivals about the debris on this section of the track.
8. Rally. 2011. Italy. Robert Kubica
Polish driver Robert Kubica, who competed in Formula 1 for Renault, became a victim of his own hobby. One of the athlete’s favorite hobbies is performing in rallies, to which the pilot devotes almost all of his free time from competing in “big prizes.” Taking part in the Italian stage of the rally, the Pole's car was torn off when entering a turn, as a result of which the car hit the track fence. The pilot received severe hand injuries, which practically put an end to Kubica’s “formula” career. IN this moment, almost two years later, the driver continues the rehabilitation process and still, from time to time, returns to the wheel of a rally car.
9. "IndyCar" 2011. Dan Weldon
One of the worst and most widespread accidents occurred in 2011 during the legendary Indianapolis 500. A mistake by one driver in the peloton caused a massive collapse on the track and ended the life of two-time champion Dan Wheldon.
10. Formula 1. 1978 Italian Grand Prix. Ronnie Petersen.
The accident at the Italian Grand Prix in 1978 set a record for the number of cars involved in the wreck, resulting in the death of one of the drivers. Chaos and confusion in the peloton at the start of the race led to 11 riders being involved in a huge accident. As a result of the collision, Ronnie Petersen's car flew into the track fence and caught fire. The pilot was pulled out of the burning car, but the next day the athlete died in the hospital.
The twenty-four hour race at Le Mans (24 Heures du Mans) rightfully has two well-deserved titles - firstly, it is the oldest endurance auto race, which has been held annually since 1923, and secondly, in 1955, during the race, the most The biggest car accident in the history of motor racing, which killed 84 people (including one of the drivers) and seriously injured another 120 people.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans race began on June 11, 1955. The competition between teams such as Mercedes, Jaguar, Aston Martin was extremely intense, and almost from the very beginning of the race many existing Le Mans lap records for time and speed were broken. By the end of lap 35, Pierre Levegh, driving the number 20 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR, along with Lance Macklin's Austin-Healey 100, which was slightly to the right, were hot on the heels of Mike's Jaguar D-type Hawthorn (Mike Hawthorn), approaching the pit stop. Mike belatedly saw the signal from the pit stop about refueling, and quickly began to brake and taxi to the pit stop, deciding not to make another lap. Since the Jaguar had disc brakes (a new feature at the time), he slowed much faster than the rest of the race, and his maneuvers forced Lance McLean, who was following almost closely behind him, to slam on the brakes, throwing out a small cloud of dust from under the wheels , and steer left, avoiding a collision. At the same time, he completely forgot about Pierre Leve, who was driving behind him in a Mercedes, who had no time to react, and who hit the Austin-Healey in the left rear fender at a speed of approximately 240 km/h. As a result of the impact at such high speed, the Mercedes rose into the air and, instantly overcoming the track barriers, flew into the crowd of spectators, crushing everything in its path.
Due to the enormous speed of the collision, the Mercedes literally broke into pieces after hitting the fences of the spectator stands, which resulted in so many casualties. The engine, hood, and front axle separated from the frame and flew across the stands, knocking down spectators along the way. The pilot was also thrown from the car and died from hitting his head on the grandstand upon landing. Interestingly, at that time, racing cars were not equipped with seat belts, as the common belief among racers was that it was better to be thrown out of the car than to be burned in it or to be crushed while strapped to the seat. However, it is unlikely that the belts would have helped Pierre Leve: after landing, the remains of the Mercedes body caught fire due to a burst gas tank, and, given that the body itself was made of a special light magnesium alloy, this caused fiery flashes that scattered onto the track and into the surrounding stands, adding new victims. In addition, eyewitnesses tried to extinguish the fire with water, adding intensity to the burning of the magnesium body, and as a result the fire lasted for several hours.
After the collision, Lance McLean's Austin-Healey 100 car flew off into the wall farthest from the stands and ricocheted back across the entire track towards the fences of the spectators, crushing one of them along the way. Lance himself was practically unharmed.
As a result of the accident, 84 people died, including one racer, Pierre Leve, and more than 120 spectators were seriously injured. This incident went down in history as the deadliest accident with the largest number of casualties in the history of motorsport.
They decided not to stop the race so that the leaving spectators would not interfere with the movement of ambulances and firefighters and would not block the road to the city. At midnight, at the request of John Fitch, the co-pilot who was supposed to replace Pierre Leve, the Mercedes team held an urgent meeting of the board of directors, at which it was decided to end the race early as a sign of respect for the victims of the incident. Eight hours after the accident, the two remaining Mercedes crews - Juan Manuel Fangio / Stirling Moss and Karl Kling / Andre Simon - were withdrawn from racing, despite the fact that the team was in the lead. The team directors also offered to leave the race for the Jaguar team, but they refused. As a result, the Jaguar team and its drivers Mike Hawthorn and Ivor Bueb became the winner of the 1955 24-hour Le Mans race.
The next day, a funeral took place in Le Mans for all those killed. At the same time, the Jaguar team racers celebrated their victory. The French press, although they covered this event, treated the Jaguar team with slight contempt, believing that Mike Hawthorne's Jaguar D-type was the culprit of the tragedy. However, an official commission ruled that the jaguar was not the culprit and placed the blame squarely on insufficient safety measures for spectators at the track. This was the impetus for the closure and refurbishment of not only the Le Mans track, but also many others in France, Spain, Germany and other countries. In Switzerland, there is still a ban on racing in which cars can approach each other side by side (i.e., in fact, racing is prohibited at all).
In 1955, only two more races were held - the RAC Tourist Trophy in England and the Italian Targa Florio, with the Mercedes team leading the way. After these two competitions, Mercedes announced that they were leaving motorsports for an indefinite period and would focus on developing passenger cars for the public. The Jaguar team decided the same thing a little later.
John Fitch retired from racing after the incident and became actively involved in improving the safety of drivers and spectators at race tracks. On his initiative, all the pit stops on the Le Mans circuit were redone.
Cars involved in the accident
Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR
The 300 SLR was a successor to the 1955 Mercedes-Benz W196 racing car that competed in the Formula 1 class. For the first time, a body made of a specially developed magnesium alloy (called Elektron) was installed on it, which significantly reduced the weight of the car to 880 kg. The engine installed on it was eight-cylinder, with a volume of 2,981 cc and a power of 310 hp. It was installed longitudinally, and in order to improve the aerodynamic properties of the car, it was rotated 33 degrees relative to the chassis and protruded slightly beyond the hood space, for which a special bulge was made on the hood on the passenger side. The brakes on the 300 SLR were drum type.
The Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR won the 1955 Mille Miglia and the World Sportscar Championship, as well as several races at the Nürburgring (Germany) and Christianstadt (Sweden). Despite these victories, after the 1955 Le Mans incident, the SLR 300 (and the Mercedes team in general) was discontinued from racing. Stirling Moss, winner of the 1955 Mille Miglia and Le Mans racer, praised the Mercedes 300 SLR as "the best racing car ever built."
The D-Type was produced from 1954 to 1957. The supporting body was made of aluminum and was designed based on aviation concepts of aerodynamics of that time. The engine is an in-line six-cylinder, with a volume of 3.4 (3.8 on the 1957 version) liters. The D-Type won the Le Mans 24-hour race back-to-back in '55, '56 and '57.
Only 87 Jaguar D-Types were produced. The first example off the production line (XKD-509) was sold at auction in 2008 for £2,200,000.
Austin-Healey 100s
In 1952, Donald Healey built an experimental example called the Healey Hundred for the 1952 London Motor Show, and it so impressed Leonard Lord, then director of Austin (who was in the process of looking for a replacement for the unpopular Austin A90), that he He immediately made a deal with Healey to produce a new car, which they decided to call the Austin-Healey 100.
The Austin-Healey 100 was produced from 1953 to 1956. The 100s, like the Jaguar, had an aluminum body and disc brakes on all wheels. Engine power was 132 hp. Only 50 Austin-Healey 100s were produced.
Austin-Healey 100s number 26 - 1955 Le Mans - The same car that was number 26 at the 1955 Le Mans was sold at auction in 2011 for £843,000.
Now on the Le Mans circuit at the scene of the accident hangs a memorial plaque with the date of the crash - June 11, 1955.
Last Sunday, October 16, during the Las Vegas Grand Prix, the final stage of the American IndyCar Series, one of the worst disasters in the history of motor sports occurred. On final stage 15 cars collided in the prestigious IndyCar race. The famous British pilot, 33-year-old Dan Weldon, died as a result of a car accident.
(Total 15 photos + 1 video)
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2. Dan Weldon's car takes off after the collision. Staying behind, Weldon approached the multi-vehicle collision at high speed. It was impossible to get around them and, trying to brake, he ran into the wheel of the car driving in front of him.
3. Dan Weldon's car explodes after hitting a guardrail.
4. Dan Wheldon's burning wrecked car slides down the track after hitting a wall and exploding. Weldon died due to non-life-threatening injuries. He was 33 years old.
5. Dan Weldon received championship title IndyCar in 2005 and twice, including this season, won the iconic Indianapolis 500 race.
6. Dan Weldon with his family. The race car driver and his family moved from Britain to the States, where they have lived for the past few years.
7. The moment of disaster.
8. In one of the largest accidents in the history of the race, about 15 cars collided, that is, almost half of those participating in the start.
9. The pilots who found themselves in the thick of events later said that they had never seen anything more terrible in their lives.
10. It was decided to stop further races in Las Vegas.
11. According to preliminary data, the cause of the tragedy could have been the condition of the highway.
