Sabena Flight 548 Sabena Flight 548 Sabena Flight 548 was a Boeing 707-329 aircraft that crashed en route from New York City to Brussels, Belgium, on February 15, 1961. The flight, which had originated at Idlewild International Airport (now John F. Kennedy International Airport), crashed on approach to Zaventem Airport, Brussels, killing all 72 people on board and one person on the ground. The fatalities included the entire U.S. Figure Skating team, who were travelling to the World Figure Skating Championships in Prague, Czechoslovakia. Despite a thorough investigation, the precise cause of the crash remains a mystery; the most likely explanation was thought
Sabena planes were part of a record-order of 34 Airbus A320 family aircraft, imposed on Sabena when under Swissair management. After an airline recession and the effects on the airline industry of the September 11 attacks in 2001, all airlines that flew across the Atlantic suffered. Swissair had pledged to invest millions in Sabena but failed to do so, partly because the airline had financial problems itself, having filed for bankruptcy protection one month prior. The company filed for legal protection against its creditors on 3 October, and went into liquidation on 6 November 2001. Fred Chaffart, Chairman of the Board