All language subtitles for Air.Disasters.S03E02.Mayday.Munich.1080p.PMTP.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-maldini_track3_[eng]

Out! Everyone, out! Now!

Run, you stupid bastard!
It's going to explode!

Munich, 1958.

23 dead,

including some of the most
talented sportsmen on earth.

We were really big time.

You could really not expect to
have a better crew

flying that
Manchester United team.

105, V-1.

The crew had not had
the wings deiced.

The pilots know
what they're doing, boys.

Christ!
We're not going to make it!

I thought I was dead.

Blame for the tragedy
would fall on one man.

That is one hell
of a burden to take on.

He was devastated by this.

The effort
to clear his name

would span more than a decade

and pit one nation
against another

in a bitter struggle
for the truth

behind one of
the worst tragedies

in the history of sport.

Ladies and gentlemen,

we are starting our approach.

We lost both engines!

Put the mask over your nose.

Emergency descent.

Mayday, mayday.

Brace for impact!

I think I lost one.

Investigation starting...

He's gonna crash!

February 6, 1958.

Munich airport, west Germany.

A British pilot prepares
to bring home

an extraordinary group
of passengers...

The Manchester United
soccer team.

In the 1950s, they are the most
famous sportsmen on the planet.

Everyone in
the huge Wembley crowd

from the queen to the oldest fan
is tense with excitement.

Manchester United is probably

the most premier team,
most famous team

this country had
ever seen before.

I joined the club
in December of '57.

Harry Gregg is
the team's star goalkeeper.

We boarded the aircraft,

which was a charter,
a charter flight.

We were really big time.

After playing
a key game in Yugoslavia,

the team has advanced
to the semifinals

of the prestigious European cup.

The aircraft
had to stop in Munich,

because it didn't have
sufficient range

to get back to Manchester
from Belgrade

without stopping to refuel.

The 21 players and
staff are traveling in style.

They're aboard
a British European airways

airspeed ambassador.

It's a luxurious
twin-engine aircraft

also known as the Elizabethan.

The captain is 36-year-old
James Thain.

He's a former R.A.F. Pilot with
an impeccable service record.

He was quite a remarkable man.

He was very upright
and honorable,

very strong character.

The weather had been
pretty grim throughout the day.

The snowfall in the morning

gave way to a rise
in the temperature

to just above freezing.

As captain Thain finishes

his pre-flight inspection,

the young sportsmen settle in
for the journey home.

They were notable
for the fact that

their manager, Matt Busby...

I'd like the lads
to get a good night's sleep.

...was picking relatively
young players in team,

and that's why they were known
as the Busby babes.

Busby's babes
start the second half

in cracking form.

We were a young
and wonderful team,

which I am very proud
to have been part of.

I'll give you guys a chance
to get your money back

once we're in the air, boys,
all right?

Traveling with the team

are 11 of the UK's best known
sports journalists,

eager to report on Manchester
United's latest success.

Also on board are
a few Yugoslavians

catching a ride to the UK's.

38 passengers in all.

How's she looking out there?

Snow buildup's minimal.

No need to sweep.

Take us home.

Happily.

38-year-old
co-pilot Kenneth Rayment

is a World War II ace.

He is also
an Elizabethan captain

and is, in fact, senior to Thain
at the airline.

They were both
highly experienced pilots.

You could really not expect
to have a better crew

flying that
Manchester United team.

They were great friends,

and, of course,
they were captains together,

and they flew together
quite often.

Rayment and Thain
have agreed

that on this flight
they will switch seats.

Because captain Rayment
was going to be

handling the aircraft

and he would be used to
handling the aircraft

from the left-hand seat,

that's why he sat
in the left-hand seat.

Port and starboard
fuel cocks on.

Crossfeed off.

It's against company policy,

which states the commander
should always sit

in the left seat.

But it's a rule that is
frequently broken.

Throttles, port and
starboard levers, one inch open.

Carb air,
port and starboard ram.

Carb air,
port and starboard ram.

Ignition boost switches off.

Ignition boost
switches off.

Munich, 609 Zulu
uniform, I am ready to take off.

B-line 609,
your clearance expires at 3-1.

Time now is 3-0.

Cleared for takeoff,
right turn out.

Thank you. Rolling.

In light snow

with the temperature
hovering around freezing,

Thain and Rayment start
their takeoff run.

Full power.

Full power.

I had been reading a book

that one of the lads
had passed to me.

I was reading that, and
we started off down the runway,

and I looked out the window.

No big deal at all.

Temperatures
and pressures okay.

90, 100.

Takeoff speed is 119 knots.

Abandon takeoff.

All of a sudden,
I watched the wheels

lock and unlock

and the plane started to spin.

We stopped slightly side on.

Sorry about that.
Engine fluctuating.

609,
we are abandoning the takeoff.

Tower, please say again.

We are abandoning
the takeoff.

May we backtrack? Over.

Engine boosting.

I would think so, yes.

The problem
was a boost surge,

and it happened with
that particular engine

on that particular aircraft.

It was a Bristol
centaurus engine.

It was prone to doing this,

especially at airports
which are at high altitudes,

and one of the problems was that

the thrusts sometimes
opened too fast.

609,
cleared to backtrack.

The Elizabethan taxies back

to the start of the runway
for a second takeoff attempt .

I was not too perturbed
at all.

Another adventure
for a young man,

and I was not a bad flier
at that time.

Munich, 609 Zulu uniform.

When we get to the end
of the runway,

I should like to
take off again.

Is the clearance still valid?

609, your clearance
is still valid.

Ladies and gentlemen,
we apologize,

but we are heading back
to try again.

Went back to
the beginning,

sat, revved up as one would do.

Revved, revved,
and they took the anchors off,

and I paid more attention
this time.

Slightly further
along the runway,

the same thing happened again.

Port is off the clock.

And this time it was Thain

who actually abandoned
that takeoff.

And again, when I thought
we were about to lift,

I watched the wheels lock
and unlock, lock and unlock.

They got it stopped.

Munich,
609 Zulu uniform,

we are abandoning
this takeoff as well.

Roger.

Cleared to backtrack.

And the pilot
came on and said...

Sorry for that.

We have a technical fault
that we're now looking into.

We're returning to the terminal
for further checks.

Nothing to be alarmed about,

and we hope to have you airborne
shortly.

Don't stray too far, boys.

We had returned to the terminal

and everybody went to the bar.

Bill Black,
the station engineer,

had seen these
two aborted takeoffs

and obviously
clattered up the steps,

put his head through
the cockpit, and said,

"well, what's going on?
Why haven't you taken off?"

We've been getting
a boost surge in the port engine

up past 60 last time.

They received
an explanation

that this was a fairly
common phenomenon

when operating the Elizabethan
from Munich

because of the high altitude,

that it was nothing
to worry about,

and they were given advice
when advancing the throttles

if they got the surging,

was to just retard
the surging engine slightly,

reduce power,

and then take it up again
to full power more slowly.

Passengers for B.E.A. 609,

please proceed to the tarmac.

Within five minutes,

the passengers had been
offloaded

and loaded on again,

and then there was
a surprise to them,

'cause they'd had
two aborted takeoffs,

and now they're asked
to go back again.

If one person had said, "this is
crazy, we're not going",

he would have had
a whole lot of followers,

but there you are,
human nature again,

who's got the moral courage?

But who likes to admit
to being a coward?

B.E.A. Flight 609 prepares

for its third takeoff attempt
from Munich airport.

The plane carrying the
Manchester United football club

is drawing attention
from inside the terminal.

You've got to remember
these are the Busby babes.

They're laughing and joking
all the time,

that sort of thing,
but now they're quite quiet,

and a lot of tension there
in the air.

Little Johnny Berry,
he said,

"we're all gonna get
fricking killed here".

And then Whelan said, "well,
if it happens, I'm ready".

At that point,
I opened my tie.

Ignition boost switches off.

Ignition boost
switches off.

Wings...

Still look good?

No need to deice.

Munich tower, B-line 609 Zulu
uniform, I'm ready to taxi.

Over.

B-line 609,
your clearance void

if not airborne by 0-4.

Time now 0-2.

Roger. Understand.
Valid till 0-4.

Captain Thain
has just two minutes

before the window
for takeoff closes.

If this third attempt
is not successful,

the flight may be canceled

and his famous passengers
will be grounded in Munich.

Munich, 609 Zulu
uniform is ready for takeoff.

Roger.

The runway is
more than 2,000 yards long.

Even with their plan for
a gradual acceleration,

the Elizabethan should
be able to lift off,

just past 1,300 yards.

So for the third time
that day,

they actually lined up the
aircraft with the center line,

got the permission to clear
to takeoff.

And they're away.

Full power.

Full power.

Temperatures and pressures okay.

Port surging slightly.

He experienced a bit
of this engine surging,

which he retarded
the throttle slightly

and then advanced it again.

Full power again.

Both engines sound
an even note.

We're going down the runway now
for a takeoff.

Everything seems okay.

The pilots know what
they're doing, boys.

I thought, there's more
people on this plane

more frightened than what I am.

105.

V-1.

Velocity one is the speed

at which a takeoff cannot
safely be abandoned,

the point of no return.

Rayment now is waiting.

He's anticipating now Thain
to call out 119 knots,

which is v-2.

At 119 knots,
the plane can become airborne.

But something goes wrong.

They suddenly lose speed.

Christ!
We're not going to make it!

There was no screaming.
There was no shouting.

There was nothing
like that at all.

Darkness and daylight
and sparks

and thumps and smacks.

You can't describe it.

And then it was just
complete and total darkness.

I thought I was dead.

The Elizabethan has
crashed through a fence,

hitting a house and a fuel shed

more than 300 yards beyond
the end of the runway.

And eventually
I got to my senses

and I started to crawl uphill.

And I got to a hole in what
was left of the aircraft.

And I honestly thought,
I'm the only one alive here.

And then I heard a shout.

Out!
Everyone, out now!

It's going to explode!

He shouted,

"run, you stupid bastard.
It's going to explode".

Now!
The plane could explode.

Come on! Go! Go! Go!

Run, you stupid bastard!

And I heard
a child crying.

I shouted, "come back".

Come back, you bastards,
there's people alive in there!

I went back in through the hole
I came out of,

and I found the little child.

Went round the other side
and found Matt Busby, the boss.

Busby's alive,
but in shock.

He had a small cut behind
his right ear, I remember,

but when I looked down,

his foot was completely reversed
round the other way.

Oh, my leg.

I jammed some rubbish up
behind him,

because he didn't look too bad,
and I left him propped up.

Harry Gregg pulls out
one passenger after another,

both living and dead.

A man must do
what a man must do.

Within minutes
of the crash,

help begins to arrive from
the airport and nearby farms.

Hey!

The co-pilot,
he's trapped up there.

Can you help him?

Two German rescuers
climb up on the wing

and free Kenneth Rayment
from the wreckage.

He is badly injured.

21 people are dead.

Seven are
Manchester United players.

The head coach, secretary,
and trainer are also dead.

Seven more team members
are seriously injured.

Manager Matt Busby is
in critical condition.

Manchester United,

one of the world's greatest
soccer teams,

is effectively wiped out.

What started out
as a wonderful thing

sadly went wrong.

Near Munich,
a fierce blaze marks the wreck

of a British airliner.

We have this pretty
high profile air disaster here.

The stakes are quite high.

We're not long after the end
of the second world war.

We've got two pilots
who are flying the aircraft

who actually flew in
the R.A.F. During the war.

Munich, obviously,
as well, was that place

where the cradle
of the Nazi party.

So you got a British government,
you got a German government.

Everybody was going
to tread warily.

At 10:00 pm
on February 6th,

six hours after the crash,

the man assigned to investigate
it arrives on the scene.

Hans Reichel was

the west German
chief accident investigator.

He was quite experienced.
He was 57 years of age.

He had flown
with the Luftwaffe.

He had flown with
Luftfansa national airline,

so there's no doubt he was
an actually qualified pilot.

This was the first major
international accident

that he had had to deal with.

In his role as
air crash investigator,

Steve Moss is reexamining
the evidence

from a 21st century perspective.

He certainly seems
to have arrived at Munich

rather under-equipped...

...to the extent that
he had to borrow

a news crew's lighting equipment
to commence his examination.

Can I have
some light here, please?

Of course,
uppermost in his mind

was the possibility
of ice on the wings,

so he went looking for that,
and sure enough, he found it.

The wrecked aircraft
was covered by a layer of snow

about eight centimeters thick.

This could be brushed aside with
the hand without difficulty.

Under this,
there was a layer of ice

frozen firmly onto
the surface of the wing.

Reichel finds
the only surfaces free of ice

are near the engines.

He assumes the entire wing was
coated in ice before the crash,

and that during
the takeoff attempt,

the propellers blew away
the ice behind them.

The day after the crash,

investigators take a closer
look at the scene.

They examine the tire tracks,
which extend 54 yards,

and right off the end
of the runway.

The information from the ground

marks that the aircraft
never got airborne,

must have in Reichel's mind
reinforced this impression

that ice on the wings
was responsible.

Manchester, from the
moment the news came through,

was a city in mourning .

While millions wait anxiously

for news of
the seriously injured men,

the hospital staff work
day and night to save them.

Matt Busby was
their worst problem.

For two days, he lay between
life and death

with one of his lungs
completely deflated.

Then came the welcome news
Matt was off the danger list.

Six of the seven
injured players

also pull through.

But the team loses
one of its greatest stars.

Duncan had died.

Duncan died, I think, 10 days.

Yeah.

To this day,
many regard Duncan Edwards

as the greatest soccer player
the UK's has ever produced.

Co-pilot Kenneth Rayment
also dies,

having suffered a brain injury.

-Full power.
-Full power.

James Thain is left
to face a wall of questions

on his own.

Well, you see,
on the first takeoff,

we weren't completely satisfied
with the engines.

Any little bit of information

that the press could get,
there was another headline.

It was relentless.

So it must have been
very difficult for him.

Two days after the crash,

Reichel interviews Thain.

After the accident,
we established

that the starboard wing had
a layer of rough ice on it.

The region of the propeller
slipstream was free from ice.

When I walked
out of the aircraft

on the first attempt,

I could see the snow
thawing on the wings

and count the ribs
of the aircraft.

What do you say was
the cause of the accident?

My personal feeling
is that there must have been

a large quantity of snow built
up at the end of the runway.

Why were you sitting
in the right-hand seat?

People began to speculate,

even before the inquiry,
about the cause of the accident.

Two months after
the crash, in April 1958,

a German inquiry
formally gets under way.

Shall I begin?

The German investigation,
straight away,

it seemed to be into
this adversarial role

of somebody being on trial and
having to prove his innocence.

Thain knew straight
away

that there's something
going on here.

He's on the ropes
straight away, right?

Hans Reichel draws on
witness testimony

of snow on the wings

and Thain's own account
that he did not deice.

And this is something
that would not go away

with Reichel is ice, ice, ice,
all the way.

The temperature
the afternoon of the crash

hovered around
32 degrees Fahrenheit.

It wasn't cold enough for
the snow to create ice.

Thain saw the water

actually dripping off
the leading edge.

So he knew the snow
was actually melting,

so, obviously,
that convinced him again

that it just didn't
require deicing.

But German experts
note that the Rlizabethan

had just descended
from 25,000 feet

where the air temperature was
minus 13 degrees Fahrenheit.

They conclude that snow falling
on the frozen wings

would have turned
instantly to ice.

Thain counters
with the testimony...

Deicing on.

...that he turned on
the wing deicing heaters

on descent to Munich.

That would have made the wings
warmer, not colder than the air.

Thain seems to have
all the answers.

But what he doesn't know

is that Hans Reichel
is about to present

a controversial
piece of evidence

that will change everything.

The German government inquiry
of the Munich disaster

takes a decisive turn

with the introduction
of a casual snapshot.

This was potentially
a smoking gun,

because at first glance,
looking at the photograph,

it appeared to show a white area
on the top of the wings,

which certainly was interpreted
as being a layer of snow or ice.

Every other aircraft
that left Munich that day

was deiced,
but not the Elizabethan.

For investigator Hans Reichel,
the crew's failure to deice

is the leading cause
of the accident.

Apart from this icing,

I can find nothing which
might have been a cause

for the accident or to have
contributed to it.

As for the house
at the end of the runway...

Clearly, it was an issue,
because the aircraft struck it.

The impact and explosion

did make the accident
more deadly.

But German authorities find
that according to regulations,

the house was a proper distance
from the airport.

Finally, investigators consider

whether the engine boosting
problem was a possible cause.

Port is off the clock.

The theory is
quickly dismissed.

The boost issue had
nothing to do with the accident .

One of the engines was
actually carrying

a crude form of flight recorder,

which indicted that
during the run,

the engines were certainly
delivering enough power

to get the aircraft airborne.

In march 1959,

a year after
the tragedy of Munich,

the German government releases
its official report.

It lays full blame
for the accident

at the feet of
captain James Thain.

Ice.

Ice on the wings, which they say
was there before the accident.

Simple.

The German
investigation also suggests

that by agreeing
to switch seats...

Take us home.

...captain Thain
may have created confusion

over which pilot was in charge.

And they said
captain Thain,

he's the one responsible for
the deaths of 23 people

and decimating the Manchester
United football team.

That is one hell of a burden
to take on.

I think in terms of
the press, obviously,

they like to have somebody that
they can pin something on,

and to that extent they saw him
as a little bit of a villain.

He was definitely
badly treated.

He was made the scapegoat.

A year after the crash,

James Thain's reputation
is in tatters.

The former R.A.F. Officer and
accomplished commercial pilot

is now a full-time farmer.

The disaster at Munich
haunts him constantly.

I can remember mom and dad

sitting up for all hours of
the night talking about this,

because dad was convinced

that there had been
some external force

that had affected
the takeoff run.

Thain is certain
that ice on the wings

did not cause the crash.

He decides to launch
his own investigation.

Dad was a man of great
integrity and fortitude,

and he was determined that
he would make sure

that he found the cause
of the accident.

But in 1959,

there are almost no
forensic tools at his disposal.

For a start, of course,
an aircraft of that size

would have the benefit of
a flight data recorder,

a black box flight recorder
and a cockpit voice recorder.

And if we could have
that information

from the 1958 Munich accident,

there would be absolutely
no doubt about the cause.

V-1.

The plane
reached 117 knots,

but then slowed dramatically.

Ice on the wings can't explain
that sudden loss of speed.

But something else can,

something Thain sees as
the real cause of the crash...

Slush on the runway.

So imagine
you're driving on a dry road

during the winter, and you
suddenly enter an area of slush.

Canadian aviation
expert terry Townshend...

...specializes in the study
of runway contamination.

Immediately,
you're gonna notice resistance

on the vehicle from the slush,

and same thing happens
on the aircraft.

Thain believes other planes

didn't have slush problems
that day

because they took off on the
first two-thirds of the runway.

Since the Elizabethan
accelerated more slowly

to compensate for
the boost pressure problem,

it rolled further into
the unused part of the runway

with deep slush.

It takes more power
to overcome that slush.

Thain learns
that nine years earlier

a Trans-Canada airlines plane
failed to take off

on a slushy Vancouver runway.

They did some research

and found that as little as
five centimeters of slush

could really adversely affect
the aircraft's ability

to reach takeoff speed.

The Canadian government

issued a letter of warning

to all airlines...

Do not attempt takeoff in
more than two inches of slush.

It was sent to B.E.A.,

but for some reason
best known to themselves,

they did not take
any action on it

and filed it away
for future reference.

The German investigators

have dismissed slush
as a possible cause,

insisting it was ice
on the wings.

But through his research,

captain Thain uncovers
a shocking omission.

We quite fortuitously
came across a witness

who had made an inspection
of the wreckage

immediately after the accident.

Karl Heinz Seffer was
among the first at the scene,

climbing up on the wing

to help pull co-pilot
Kenneth Rayment

from the wreckage.

He was later interviewed
by investigators.

But when this report
was read out

to the first German commission,
only part of it was read out.

That part which included
the evidence

that he couldn't find any ice
was left out.

All this was set up.
It was all stage managed.

You know, Thain was gonna be
made the scapegoat.

It was gonna be ice on the wing.

It wasn't gonna be
runway contamination.

That's in spite of
eyewitness accounts

from the air traffic
controllers,

which also supported
the slush theory.

B-line 609,
your clearance expires at 3-1.

Time now is...

The most crucial
eyewitnesses

saw the aircraft start
the takeoff run as normal.

About halfway down the runway
they saw the nose lift,

which would be
standard procedure.

But then, unusually,

they saw it
go back down onto the runway,

which, of course,
should not happen.

This crucial
eyewitness evidence

was also omitted at the inquiry.

It's quite notable
that the air traffic controllers

that were called as witnesses
were the trainee ones

and that the qualified ones
weren't called.

The only person to
testify

about slush on the runway

was the Munich airport manager.

He said he inspected the runway

and found the slush was less
than a quarter inch deep.

Slush can be
difficult to measure,

because it can vary
significantly in height

across a runway.

The slush can be one centimeter
high in one place,

and it can be 10 centimeters
high in another.

So a number of samples
have to be taken

in order to get
a reasonable average.

Also in question
is Reichel's conclusion

about ice on the wings...

...that it must have been there
before takeoff,

since the only areas without ice

were behind the propellers
where it blew off.

A scientific challenge
to this view

comes from a most
unlikely source...

Captain Thain's wife, Ruby.

She was
a remarkable lady,

being one of the first women to
get a first class honors degree

from Bristol
in chemistry, physics and maths.

A trained chemist,

Ruby Thain points to
the massive amount

of fire extinguishing chemicals
sprayed on the burning wreckage.

She thought about
this very carefully,

and she obtained a sample of
fire extinguisher powder,

which turned out to be
sodium bicarbonate,

which is common baking powder.

So she would go out and
sprinkle it on the metal car,

thinking it might simulate
an aircraft wing,

and found that if that mixed
with snow and water

that this solution would freeze
at a lower temperature

than that that was recorded
out at Munich that night.

Firemen trained their
hoses mainly on the engines.

Ruby's experiment could explain

why ice did not accumulate
in those areas

but did build up
on the rest of the wing

in the hours after the crash.

With new eyewitness testimony

and compelling
scientific evidence,

another side of the story
begins to emerge.

If it's ice on the wings,
it's the captain's fault.

He is to blame.

V-1.

Of course,
if it's slush on the runway,

then really,
it's the airport to blame.

Thain submits
the new evidence

to the German authorities.

But they refuse to
reopen the investigation.

It's nonsense.

In 1961, B.E.A.
Officially fires Thain,

primarily for violating
the company's policy

against pilots switching seats.

Well, they sacked him,
and he was devastated by this,

for something which
was effectively

a little company regulation,

but other people
did that as well.

B.E.A., obviously,
if you think about it,

did not want a pilot like that
on the flight deck.

As you're about to take off,

"this is your captain speaking,
captain Thain.

I'm the one responsible for
23 deaths at Munich in 1958",

so no airline wants that.

A conviction of convenience.

It didn't matter
who they hung out to dry,

and he was hung out to dry.

The loss of his job

makes Thain more determined
than ever to clear his name.

He writes letter after letter

to both the British and
German governments

urging them to reopen
the investigation.

In 1965, those efforts pay off.

German authorities agree to
review the investigation

of the Munich disaster.

Initially, with
the second German inquiry,

it was felt that, yes, there
could be a glimmer of hope.

That hope has been
stirred by some new research.

Tests into slush
carried out at Bedford.

Britain's royal
aircraft establishment

has conducted slush tests
on the Elizabethan aircraft.

Basically, they flooded
a runway to varying depths

and simulated a takeoff run
using an ambassador aircraft.

The results of these tests
were quite alarming.

In run after run,

the plane decelerates from
117 to about 105 knots...

The same loss of speed
reported by Thain.

We're hoping that when
the Germans have considered,

if they consider
all the relevant evidence,

we shall get them to
reach the conclusion

that the aircraft accident was
due to slush on the runway

and not ice on the wings.

But at the two-day hearing,

Reichel is not swayed
by the new evidence.

Instead of clearing Thain,
he condemns him further,

saying that by switching seats

the captain actually
made things worse.

The differing
assessment of the situation

by the two pilots

probably increased the severity
of the accident.

Christ!
We're not going to make it!

As an investigator
these days,

I can see no technical reason

why that should have contributed
to the accident.

The damning findings
of the German review commission

are a crushing blow to Thain.

The British government
knew, the airline knew,

and Thain certainly knew
he'd been set up,

but nothing was done.

But in a strange twist,

he's about to get
one last chance,

thanks to Britain's
most powerful politician.

100,000
expectant fans packed the stands

to see great football.

The Busby babes
were raring to go.

In 1967,

Harold Wilson
is prime minister of the UK's.

After attending
a Manchester United game,

he makes a comment that
sets off a media frenzy.

He says he believes James Thain
was a victim of injustice.

It became another
headline, "the fight goes on".

Harold Wilson, he knew
enough that Thain was innocent,

and he really took it on.

It was debated in
the house of commons,

and then it went ahead,

and this was the most thorough
inquiry yet.

In 1968,

British investigators
conduct a study

to determine whether
slush or wing ice

caused the Munich disaster.

Their findings immediately
call into question

the accuracy of
the two German reports.

Photographic analysis shows that
the white on the wings

is not snow.

It was merely light reflecting
off a wet surface.

A new picture was taken
from the original negative,

which showed clearly
the markings on the aircraft,

so there couldn't
have been ice.

As well, three
separate experts determine

that the amount of ice
Reichel found on the wings,

an eighth of an inch,

would not have been enough
to prevent takeoff.

I don't see how a layer of ice,

even five millimeters thick,

could account for the
deceleration of the aircraft.

Then, the British
inquiry takes a dramatic turn

when a star witness appears...

Reinhardt Meyer, a pilot who was
first on the scene of the crash.

It turned out when
he was called to give evidence,

he said, "well, I spoke to
Reichel personally, face to face

and told him what had happened,
that I'd gone to the aircraft.

I'd looked for ice
immediately after,

within minutes of the crash
and I found no ice,

just melting snow only,
and that was it",

so everyone was
astonished at this.

Reichel has no explanation

for the glaring omission.

I think he found it
very difficult to back down

and say,
"actually, I was wrong".

Slush on the runway
is going to be

the German airport
authority's fault,

and they're not going
to accept that.

In march 1969...

Good news.

11 years after the crash...

Finally.

The British government

formally clears James Thain.

Well, of course, my
family are very pleased, indeed.

Well,
he knew that, obviously,

this was the right findings, and
he was very pleased and happy,

because in this country
he'd been exonerated.

But B.E.A. Does not
give him his job back.

Captain Thain never flies again.

In Germany, Hans Reichel
and the aviation authorities

never exonerate him.

I think there was
a huge amount of stress

and strain and tension.

And he died a young man.
He was 54.

At Munich,
there were 23 victims,

and captain Thain was the 24th.

10 years
after the accident

that killed eight
of its players,

Manchester United becomes
the first English team

to win the European cup.

At last, Matt Busby,

the maestro of
Manchester United,

had groomed a team great enough
to beat Europe's best.

A cup they might
have won in 1958

if not for an aviation disaster

that devastated the finest
team of players

Britain's had ever assembled.

Harry Gregg continued playing
for Manchester United

until 1967.

Now in his 70s, he dwells only
on the fond memories.

I don't think
about the accident.

I think about
what I was part of.

A team of wonderful, young,
spirited players,

great journalists, great staff.

Everything was good about it.

Captain Thain's legacy is

modern aviation's
improved understanding

of the deadly effects of slush.

The problem is tackled now,

and I would suggest
it was probably a direct result

of the Munich accident.

Airport authorities
approach the problem

very, very differently.

By what he did
forcing this issue,

he's probably saved
countless lives

and prevented more than one
Munich in that particular time.

So in that sense, he's to be
admired for what he did

in those 11 years.

Mom was quoted as saying ,

"a man with greater integrity,
I will never know".

But he also left an inscription
for me in a book,

which is "the difference between
the impossible and the possible

is merely a measure of
man's determination".