Twenty-Three of the 44 passengers on board were killed when Manchester United's plane crashed on its third attempt to take off from Munich on February 6, 1958.
The United squad were returning from a European Cup tie against Red Star Belgrade, which they had drawn 3-3 to ensure a 5-4 aggregate victory.
Seven of the 'Busby Babes' - Geoff Bent, Roger Byrne, Eddie Colman, Mark Jones, David Pegg, Tommy Taylor and Liam Whelan - did not survive the crash, while an eighth, Duncan Edwards, died in hospital 15 days later.
Manager Sir Matt Busby did survive, but he was seriously injured and had to stay in hospital for two months. Bobby Charlton, Bill Foulkes and Harry Gregg were also among those who lived, while Johnny Berry and Jackie Blanchflower could not play again because of their injuries. The tragedy was found to have been caused by a build-up of slush at the end of the runway, which stopped the plane from gaining enough speed to reach the height needed to clear the ground.
United won only one league game during the rest of the season after the disaster, but they did reach the FA Cup Final, where they were beaten 2-0 by Bolton.