1. Kobe Bryant (2020) Sport: Basketball Details: Tragically, in a Calabasas, California, helicopter crash, NBA legend Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna, along with seven other people, perished. They were on their way to a basketball competition.
2. Thurman Munson (1979) Sport: Baseball Details: Star catcher for the New York Yankees, Thurman Munson perished in a plane crash in the vicinity of Akron, Ohio, while practicing landings in his private jet. He was a skilled pilot.
3. Roberto Clemente (1972) Sport: Baseball Details: On his way to provide relief to earthquake victims in Nicaragua, baseball Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente perished in a plane crash. Shortly after takeoff from Puerto Rico, there was a crash.
4. The Marshall University Football Team (1970): American football Details: All 75 people on board perished when the Marshall University football team’s chartered plane crashed close to Huntington, West Virginia. The group was coming back from a match.
5. Knute Rockne (1931) Sport: American Football Details: On his way to Los Angeles, legendary Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne perished in a plane crash in Kansas. America as a whole mourned his loss deeply.
6. Payne Stewart (1999) Sport: Golf Details: Payne Stewart, the 1999 U.S. Open winner, perished in a plane crash following a loss of cabin pressure in his private aircraft. The jet flew uncontrollably for several hours before crashing in South Dakota.
7. Members of the 1977 Lynyrd Skynyrd Band Sports: Not athletes, but noteworthy because of their association with the sports world.
Details: A plane disaster in Mississippi claimed the lives of several members of the musical group Lynyrd Skynyrd. Many sports fans and players adored the band, and sporting events frequently featured their music.
8. Football Team Zob Ahan (1989)
Sport: Soccer (football)
Specifics: Among the 254 people murdered in a plane crash on the way to an event in the United States were members of the Iranian football team Zob Ahan.
These terrible events serve as a sobering reminder of the dangers that come with traveling, even for some of the most renowned athletes and teams in the world.
