Date in year · 1961 · The 1960s

February 15, 1961

On February 15, 1961, sabena Flight 548 crashes in Belgium, killing 73, including the entire United States figure skating team along with several of their coaches and family members. The year's #1 song was "Tossin' and Turnin'" by Bobby Lewis. Jane Leeves, John Podhoretz, Don Mattingly would arrive in the same year.

Events

1

Births

0

Deaths

1

Year

1961

1960s

Around 1961

The year in brief

1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1961st year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 961st year of the 2nd millennium, the 61st year of the 20th century, and the 2nd year of the 1960s decade.

Read the full year of 1961 →

What happened

On February 15, 1961

  1. 1961 Sabena Flight 548 crashes in Belgium, killing 73, including the entire United States figure skating team along with several of their coaches and family members.

    1961 fatal crash of a Boeing 707 in Belgium

    Sabena Flight 548 was a scheduled international passenger flight from Idlewild Airport in New York City to Brussels Airport in Belgium. On 15 February 1961, the Boeing 707-329 operating the flight crashed on approach to Brussels Airport, killing all 72 people on board and one person on the ground. The fatalities included the entire United States figure skating team, which was traveling to the World Figure Skating Championships in Prague, Czechoslovakia.

Farewells

Died on February 15, 1961

Laurence Owen American figure skater (1944–1961)

Elsewhere that year

Other moments from 1961

The class of 1961

Others born in 1961

Jane Leeves 1961– English actress and dancer
John Podhoretz 1961– American journalist and author
Don Mattingly 1961– American baseball player, coach, and manager
Konstantin Lavronenko 1961– Russian actor
David Servan-Schreiber 1961– French physician, neuroscientist, and author (died 2011)
Jeff Hostetler 1961– American football player

Step through

Nearby

Keep going

More to explore