carlyluvsunited
06-02-2008, 07:17 AM
Munich Air Disaster: The pilot who was wrongly blamed for the crash
In the shadow of the statue honouring football legend Sir Matt Busby, Sebuda
Thain will finally lay to rest the cruel slur that destroyed her father and blighted
the past 50 years of her life.
Despite the painful memories, she is determined to take her place alongside
Manchester United fans and the families of the 23 passengers and crew killed in
the crash at tomorrow's service to mark the Munich air disaster.
She says her beloved father Captain James Thain - the pilot wrongly accused of
causing the crash - would want her to be there and she is determined to pay his
respects to the dead.
"The crash completely changed our lives," says Sebuda, in the first interview she
has ever given. "I was only seven when it happened and until then I had had a
happy, normal life."
Now a 57-year-old teacher with two grown-up sons, Sebuda was nervous when
she received an invitation to tomorrow's memorial.
Fifty years after the disaster that claimed the lives of eight footballers, she is still
traumatised by the accusations and death threats that she believes contributed
to her father's early death, at the age of 54.
"It took time for me to fully understand what was going on," she says.
"My parents tried to protect me but it was horrible to find out my dad was being
blamed for the crash."
Emotions ran high in the months after the accident.
After the German inquiry, Captain Thain was the subject of a hate campaign.
"I was bullied at school over my dad's involvement with Munich and it was very
upsetting," recalls Sebuda.
The BEA Elizabethan aeroplane crashed in appalling weather while attempting to
take off from Munich Airport for the third time.
The plane failed to reach the speed required for take-off and as pilot Ken
Rayment and Captain Thain, acting as co-pilot, struggled with the controls it
smashed into a house and a fuel dump at the end of the runway.
The impact was enormous. Even then Manchester United were Britain's leading
club. They had won three league titles in five years and were defying the English
football authorities by testing themselves in Europe.
The West German aviation authorities insisted ice on the wings caused the crash
and an inquiry concluded this was a clear case of pilot error. Ken Rayment was
dead so the finger of blame pointed firmly to just one man.
Captain Thain was suspended from work and made a scapegoat. He spent the
next 11 years trying to clear his name.
Two German inquiries into the crash blamed him.
It was not until 1969 that the results of a British investigation revealed it was
slush on the runway - the responsibility of the airport - and not ice on the wings -
the responsibility of the pilot - that caused the crash. The British findings
concluded: "Blame for the accident is not to be imputed to Captain Thain."
But the Germans never accepted this.
Thain never flew as a pilot again and died in 1975.
Sebuda, from Berkshire, cannot forget the impact on her family as her mother, a
science graduate who worked as a meteorologist during the Second World War,
began endless experiments to help their case.
"Dad's world was turned upside down. He had huge problems to sort out. He lost
his job so my mother returned to work as a teacher at the school I attended.
"My father did have a smallholding where he kept chickens but it was never
successful as all his time was taken up trying to clear his name. There was
endless paperwork and everything took so long. We did not have emails and
instant communication then.
"My mother was a tower of strength. Her experiments helped to prove the
accident was caused by the slush on the runway, not nonexistent ice on the
wings.
"My father's torment went on for years.
There were three inquiries into the crash but in between there were years of
painstaking preparation.
"They found themselves dealing with three powerful organisations - the German
and British authorities and BEA.
Mum and Dad often appeared to be the only ones prepared to continue trying to
establish the real cause of the accident.
"It was hard for Dad because he found out vital evidence had not been heard in
the German inquiry and important witnesses were not called.
"Eventually, the British authorities cleared him. It brought some relief but he knew
the Germans still blamed him and that was not right.
"My father simply wanted everyone to acknowledge the truth.
He was grateful the British inquiry cleared him but he was still deeply troubled the
Germans did not agree.
"He was never able to resume his career and, because he was sacked, he didn't
qualify for his pension."
To this day, the German authorities refuse to accept the British findings on the
accident. Sebuda Thain and her family find that difficult to deal with.
"It is upsetting that even today, many people believe the first German view that
the crash was caused by ice on the wing was correct," she says.
"The trouble is, people remember their first impressions and recall that my father
was blamed, not that he was cleared 11 years later.
"My father died aged just 54 believing that he was the victim of a great injustice.
He was bitter and who can blame him? He was an honest man and a fine pilot,
and the crash was not his fault."
Indeed, an investigation just last year by aviation historian Stephen Morrin for a
new book on the tragedy pointed out that Thain was a hero who tried to rescue
passengers from the wreckage.
Sebuda has always shunned publicity and had no contact with United until
recently. She is speaking out now to ensure the truth about the accident is
remembered.
But her deepest sympathies have always been with the victims and it will be their
families she will be thinking of tomorrow.
"One minute talented players were on the crest of a wave and the next minute
this unbelievably cruel disaster wrecked so many lives.
"I am very pleased I have been invited. As well as paying respects on behalf of
my late father, I'll be able to pay my own respects to those who lost their lives
and to their families.
"I have moved on and don't believe in hanging on to the past. But I will attend
the anniversary because I believe my dad would have wanted me to do it for
him."
My father had death threats and I was bullied
He died bitter and who can blame him?
www.mirror.co.uk
Click below to join manutdtalk.com forums to read and
discuss all breaking news on all things United !!! Come talk to us….
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In the shadow of the statue honouring football legend Sir Matt Busby, Sebuda
Thain will finally lay to rest the cruel slur that destroyed her father and blighted
the past 50 years of her life.
Despite the painful memories, she is determined to take her place alongside
Manchester United fans and the families of the 23 passengers and crew killed in
the crash at tomorrow's service to mark the Munich air disaster.
She says her beloved father Captain James Thain - the pilot wrongly accused of
causing the crash - would want her to be there and she is determined to pay his
respects to the dead.
"The crash completely changed our lives," says Sebuda, in the first interview she
has ever given. "I was only seven when it happened and until then I had had a
happy, normal life."
Now a 57-year-old teacher with two grown-up sons, Sebuda was nervous when
she received an invitation to tomorrow's memorial.
Fifty years after the disaster that claimed the lives of eight footballers, she is still
traumatised by the accusations and death threats that she believes contributed
to her father's early death, at the age of 54.
"It took time for me to fully understand what was going on," she says.
"My parents tried to protect me but it was horrible to find out my dad was being
blamed for the crash."
Emotions ran high in the months after the accident.
After the German inquiry, Captain Thain was the subject of a hate campaign.
"I was bullied at school over my dad's involvement with Munich and it was very
upsetting," recalls Sebuda.
The BEA Elizabethan aeroplane crashed in appalling weather while attempting to
take off from Munich Airport for the third time.
The plane failed to reach the speed required for take-off and as pilot Ken
Rayment and Captain Thain, acting as co-pilot, struggled with the controls it
smashed into a house and a fuel dump at the end of the runway.
The impact was enormous. Even then Manchester United were Britain's leading
club. They had won three league titles in five years and were defying the English
football authorities by testing themselves in Europe.
The West German aviation authorities insisted ice on the wings caused the crash
and an inquiry concluded this was a clear case of pilot error. Ken Rayment was
dead so the finger of blame pointed firmly to just one man.
Captain Thain was suspended from work and made a scapegoat. He spent the
next 11 years trying to clear his name.
Two German inquiries into the crash blamed him.
It was not until 1969 that the results of a British investigation revealed it was
slush on the runway - the responsibility of the airport - and not ice on the wings -
the responsibility of the pilot - that caused the crash. The British findings
concluded: "Blame for the accident is not to be imputed to Captain Thain."
But the Germans never accepted this.
Thain never flew as a pilot again and died in 1975.
Sebuda, from Berkshire, cannot forget the impact on her family as her mother, a
science graduate who worked as a meteorologist during the Second World War,
began endless experiments to help their case.
"Dad's world was turned upside down. He had huge problems to sort out. He lost
his job so my mother returned to work as a teacher at the school I attended.
"My father did have a smallholding where he kept chickens but it was never
successful as all his time was taken up trying to clear his name. There was
endless paperwork and everything took so long. We did not have emails and
instant communication then.
"My mother was a tower of strength. Her experiments helped to prove the
accident was caused by the slush on the runway, not nonexistent ice on the
wings.
"My father's torment went on for years.
There were three inquiries into the crash but in between there were years of
painstaking preparation.
"They found themselves dealing with three powerful organisations - the German
and British authorities and BEA.
Mum and Dad often appeared to be the only ones prepared to continue trying to
establish the real cause of the accident.
"It was hard for Dad because he found out vital evidence had not been heard in
the German inquiry and important witnesses were not called.
"Eventually, the British authorities cleared him. It brought some relief but he knew
the Germans still blamed him and that was not right.
"My father simply wanted everyone to acknowledge the truth.
He was grateful the British inquiry cleared him but he was still deeply troubled the
Germans did not agree.
"He was never able to resume his career and, because he was sacked, he didn't
qualify for his pension."
To this day, the German authorities refuse to accept the British findings on the
accident. Sebuda Thain and her family find that difficult to deal with.
"It is upsetting that even today, many people believe the first German view that
the crash was caused by ice on the wing was correct," she says.
"The trouble is, people remember their first impressions and recall that my father
was blamed, not that he was cleared 11 years later.
"My father died aged just 54 believing that he was the victim of a great injustice.
He was bitter and who can blame him? He was an honest man and a fine pilot,
and the crash was not his fault."
Indeed, an investigation just last year by aviation historian Stephen Morrin for a
new book on the tragedy pointed out that Thain was a hero who tried to rescue
passengers from the wreckage.
Sebuda has always shunned publicity and had no contact with United until
recently. She is speaking out now to ensure the truth about the accident is
remembered.
But her deepest sympathies have always been with the victims and it will be their
families she will be thinking of tomorrow.
"One minute talented players were on the crest of a wave and the next minute
this unbelievably cruel disaster wrecked so many lives.
"I am very pleased I have been invited. As well as paying respects on behalf of
my late father, I'll be able to pay my own respects to those who lost their lives
and to their families.
"I have moved on and don't believe in hanging on to the past. But I will attend
the anniversary because I believe my dad would have wanted me to do it for
him."
My father had death threats and I was bullied
He died bitter and who can blame him?
www.mirror.co.uk
Click below to join manutdtalk.com forums to read and
discuss all breaking news on all things United !!! Come talk to us….
http://manutdtalk.com/forums/register.php