On 16 July 1960, after taking off from

Copenhagen Airport Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup ( da, Københavns Lufthavn, Kastrup, ; ) is an international airport serving Copenhagen, Denmark, Zealand, the Øresund Region, and southern Sweden including Scania. It is the second largest airport in the Nordic ...

at 15.38 local time, a

de Havilland Dragon Rapide The de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide is a 1930s short-haul biplane airliner developed and produced by British aircraft company de Havilland. Capable of accommodating 6–8 passengers, it proved an economical and durable craft, despite its rel ...

plane, (registration OY-DZY) chartered to the Danish Football Association, crashed into the

Øresund Øresund or Öresund (, ; da, Øresund ; sv, Öresund ), commonly known in English as the Sound, is a strait which forms the Danish–Swedish border, separating Zealand (Denmark) from Scania (Sweden). The strait has a length of ; its width ...

about from shore after the pilot lost control of the aircraft in severe weather. All eight passengers died; the pilot survived but required a leg to be amputated.

Footballers

The plane was carrying eight

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

players to Herning Airport for a final trial match at Herning stadium to select the Danish squad for the 1960 Olympic tournament. Three of the eight had been provisionally selected for the squad; the rest were B-team and youth internationals with a last chance to impress the selectors. The dead were: Two fishermen found pilot Stig Vindeløv alive in the wreckage, along with Per Funch Jensen, who died en route to hospital.

Second aircraft

A smaller plane waiting for clearance to take off when the accident occurred was due to carry four other players to the same match: Erik Dyreborg, Hans Christian Andersen, Bent Jørgensen, and Bjarne Eklund. These were all youth players. Dyreborg was demoted from the first plane to make room for a kit basket.

Olympics

After the accident, the Danish FA considered withdrawing from the Olympic tournament. In the event, they won the silver medal, losing to

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

in the final.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Danish football air crash Aviation accidents and incidents in 1960 Accidents and incidents involving the de Havilland Dragon Rapide Aviation accidents and incidents in Denmark Football at the 1960 Summer Olympics Olympic deaths Aviation accidents and incidents involving professional sports teams 1960 in Denmark 1960 in Danish football Denmark at the men's Olympic football tournament July 1960 events in Europe Disasters in Copenhagen 1960 disasters in Denmark

Footballers

Second aircraft

Olympics

See also

References