Vinson-Owen , as a coach , and her two daughters , as competitors , were all part of the United States team scheduled to appear at the 1961 World Championships in Prague , Czechoslovakia . They boarded Sabena Flight 548 at New York City 's Idlewild International Airport along with the rest of the American team . The overnight flight had a stopover scheduled for Brussels , Belgium and on its arrival in the clear mid-morning of February 15 , the captain had to abort the approach and circle around for a second attempt to land on a different runway . The plane , a Boeing 707 , never made it back to the airport ; instead , it plunged into the wooded farmland of the village of Berg , Belgium , taking the lives of all 72 passengers and crew plus a farmer at work in his fields . All 18 members of the American figure skating team plus 16 of their relatives , friends , and coaches were among the dead
Sabena Flight 548
Sabena Flight 548
Maribel Vinson