The Chapecoense crash in Colombia on Tuesday killed 77 of the 81 on board, including most of the team, backroom staff and the media party. It's the biggest sports-related aviation disaster ever. Govindan Kishwar looks at some of those that preceded it:
Torino football team: Superga Air Disaster, 1949
On May 4, 1949, following a friendly against Portuguese side Benfica, the plane carrying the entire Torino team back from Lisbon crashed into a wall at the Basilica of Superga. The crash - caused by a mix of low visibility, high winds and a suspected faulty altimeter - killed 31 people, including the entire Torino team, most of whom were part of the Italy national team. Torino had won four Serie A titles on the trot at the time of the crash; they have only won one since, in 1976.
Manchester United Football Club: Munich Air Disaster, 1958
The most high-profile sporting disaster, the crash killed 23 people, including eight Manchester United players - popularly known as the Busby Babes. The players were returning from a European Cup match in Belgrade and had stopped at Munich to refuel. The weather was bad, with snow and ice on the tarmac, and after two failed take-offs the passengers returned to the airport while the aircraft was inspected. The third attempt, at 3.04pm, proved fatal; the aircraft failed to reach optimal take-off speed but the pilot could not abort take-off and the plane crashed at the end of the runway. United were the reigning League champions but it was another seven seasons before they would win the title again.
Rocky Marciano, boxer: Died August 31, 1969
The former world heavyweight champion, who won all his 49 bouts (43 through K.O), died on August 31, 1969, on the eve of his 46th birthday. Marciano, on board a private Cessna 172, was headed to Iowa, but was hit by bad weather; the inexperienced pilot attempted landing at a small airfield in Newton, Iowa, but he hit a tree two miles short of the runway.
Old Christians Club rugby union team: 1972 Andes flight disaster
The incident, although tragic, also highlighted the human will to survive. Uruguayan Air force flight 571, with the Old Christians club rugby team from Uruguay on board, crashed on October 13, 1972, in the snow-clad, rugged mountains of Mendoza in Argentina, near the Chilean border. Survivors were not rescued till December 23 that year. Twenty-seven of the 45 passengers survived the crash but the harsh terrain made search efforts difficult and an avalanche killed eight more people. Once food ran out, the survivors were forced to eat the flesh of those who had died. After 72 days, the survivors - three of whom had also tried searching for help by trekking up the mountain - were rescued. The crash - put down to pilot error - was later made into a bestselling book, Alive.
Graham Hill, Racing driver: November 29, 1975
Two-time Formula One champion, Graham Hill died at the age of 46, not in a racing car, but in an aircraft. A fan of flying, Hill was returning from France when the Piper PA 23-250 Turbo Aztec plane that he was piloting crashed near Arkley golf course in London. Hill was attempting to land at Elstree Airfield amid heavy fog at night. It was later learned that Hill's aircraft was unregistered at the time, his U.S pilot certification had expired, and even his UK private pilot's license. His son Damon Hill won his first and only F1 championship in 1996, making Graham and Damon the first father-son Formula One champions.
Zambia national football: Gabon Air Disaster, 1993
All 30 passengers on board flight Zambian Air Force de Havilland Canada DHC-5D Buffalo, including 18 members of the Zambia national team, died when the aircraft crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off Gabon on its way to Dakar, Senegal. The players were headed for a World Cup qualifier against Senegal. Prior to the crash, tests were run on the aircraft and it was deemed unfit to fly. The flight, however, went ahead as scheduled, and when the engine caught fire, the pilot switched off the wrong engine, sealing their fate. The team had been on the rise at that point but the crash set them back and it took another 20 years before they won their first African Cup of Nations.
Payne Stewart, golfer: 1999 South Dakota Learjet crash
Payne Stewart, who won 11 PGA tour titles, died at the age of 42 when the Learjet 35 he was travelling from Orlando, Florida, to Dallas, Texas crashed in South Dakota due to a loss of cabin pressure. All six on board, two members of crew, and four passengers, died. The aircraft was on autopilot when it lost cabin pressure, incapacitating those on-board due to a lack of oxygen. The plane kept flying for almost four hours, and 2400 kms, before running out of fuel and crashing in a field in Aberdeen. The NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) report showed that the plane had several instances of maintenance work related to cabin pressure in the months leading up to the accident.
Hansie Cronje, cricketer: Died in a plane crash on June 1, 2002
The South African cricket captain had been implicated for match-fixing in 2000 and was subsequently handed a life ban from cricket. On June 1, 2002, the all-rounder's scheduled flight from Johannesburg to George was cancelled, and Cronje decided to become the only passenger in a Hawker Siddeley HS 748 turboprop aircraft that was flying to George. Poor visibility and inadequate navigational equipment resulted in the flight crashing into a mountain, and the two pilots and Cronje, aged 32, were killed. There are theories that the Cronje was murdered by the betting syndicate for his involvement in fixing; there are other theories that he is still alive.