On Valentine’s Day in 1961, a Boeing 707 took off from New York’s Idlewild Airport bound for Brussels. It never made it. Instead, Sabena Flight 548 plummeted into a Belgian farm field, ending 72 lives and effectively wiping out the entire elite tier of American figure skating in a single morning.
It’s the kind of tragedy that feels like a glitch in reality. One day, you’re looking at a 16-year-old girl on the cover of Sports Illustrated, the "Queen" of her sport; the next, she’s gone. When people ask what figure skaters were on the plane, they aren’t just looking for a manifest. They’re looking for the names of a generation that vanished before they could become legends.
The Names of the 18 Skaters Who Lost Their Lives
The 1961 U.S. World Figure Skating Team wasn't just a group of athletes. They were kids, siblings, and couples. Out of the 72 people on board, 18 were the top-ranked skaters in the United States.
The most recognizable names were the Owen family. Maribel Vinson-Owen, a nine-time U.S. champion and bronze medalist, was the team’s matriarch and coach. Her two daughters were with her: Laurence "Laurie" Owen, the 16-year-old reigning U.S. and North American champion, and 20-year-old Maribel Owen, who had just won the national pairs title.
The full list of skaters who perished is heavy to read. It includes:
- Ladies: Laurence Owen, Stephanie Westerfeld, and Rhode Lee Michelson.
- Men: Bradley Lord (the national champion), Gregory Kelley, and Douglas Ramsay.
- Pairs: Maribel Owen and Dudley Richards; Ila Ray Hadley and Ray Hadley Jr.; Laurie Hickox and William Hickox.
- Ice Dance: Diane Sherbloom and Larry Pierce; Dona Lee Carrier and Roger Campbell; Patricia Dineen and Robert Dineen.
Douglas Ramsay wasn't even supposed to be there. He took the place of Tim Brown, who had to stay home because of a nasty case of the flu. That’s the sort of random chance that haunts people for decades.
The Coaches and Family Members on Board
It wasn't just the athletes. The "skating family" on that plane included 16 other people—coaches, officials, and relatives who were there to support the team.
Linda Hadley, the mother of Ila Ray and Ray Jr., was on that flight. Imagine a mother watching both of her children chase a dream, only for it to end in a field in Berg-Kampenhout. Coaches like Edi Scholdan and William Kipp, who were the architects of the American style, also died.
The loss of the coaches was a secondary blow to the sport's infrastructure. In figure skating, knowledge is passed down like an apprenticeship. When those masters died, the "playbook" for American excellence was essentially shredded.
The Near Misses: Why Some Survived
There are always the "what-ifs." Lorraine Hanlon, a junior champion, was invited to go as an alternate or for exhibitions. Her school told her she'd be expelled if she took the time off. She stayed home. She lived.
Then there were the Jelineks. Otto and Maria Jelinek, the Canadian pairs champions, were almost on that flight. They had won the North American Championships just days before in Philadelphia. Their friends on the U.S. team invited them to hitch a ride on the Sabena flight. Otto’s coach, however, insisted they stick to their original travel plans.
If they had said yes, Canada would have lost its greatest pair of that era too.
How the Tragedy Changed Figure Skating Forever
The immediate aftermath was total shock. The 1961 World Championships in Prague were canceled entirely—the only time that has happened for a reason other than war.
The U.S. program was, for all intents and purposes, dead. They had to start from absolute zero. This is why you see such a massive gap in American dominance between 1961 and the late 60s. It forced the U.S. to look toward international coaches, which is how legends like Carlo Fassi and John Nicks ended up shaping the future of American skating.
It also birthed the Memorial Fund. People from all over the world started sending money to the U.S. Figure Skating Association. They didn't know what else to do. That money became a scholarship fund that has since distributed over $20 million.
Peggy Fleming was one of the first kids to benefit from it. Without the fund created in the wake of Sabena Flight 548, she might never have had the resources to win gold in 1968. Scott Hamilton, Kristi Yamaguchi, and Meryl Davis all owe a debt to the team that never made it to Prague.
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Moving Forward and Honoring the Legacy
If you want to truly understand the impact of this event, look at the rules of travel today. No U.S. figure skating team ever flies together on the same plane anymore. It’s a literal "designated survivor" policy for athletes.
The best way to honor the names on that manifest is to recognize the resilience of the sport. Every time an American skater hits the ice at the Olympics, they are part of a lineage that was nearly severed in 1961.
Next Steps for Readers:
- Visit the Memorial: If you’re ever in Colorado Springs, the Broadmoor Skating Club has a marble bench shaped like a skate dedicated to the victims.
- Support the Fund: You can still donate to the U.S. Figure Skating Memorial Fund to help current skaters with training costs.
- Watch the History: Look for the documentary Rise, which tells the story of the 1961 team through the eyes of those who survived the era.