1957 Ambassador Air disaster

The 1957 Ambassador Air Disaster was an airplane crash that took place on Thursday 16 May, 1957 at Van Draak International Airport. 26 people died in the accident, including the bulk of the star Grijzestad Strijders team.

Background
Grijzestad Strijders was at the time the best football club in the country (many of their players participated in the 1954 Micronations World Cup, where Brunant finished second). They dominated the 1. Liga (winning in 1954 and 1956) and had won the Johan II Cup in 1956 as well as the Supercup, completing the historic first treble.

In 1957 Grijzestad won the league again and were the undisputed top team in Brunant. In late April, the team organized a match in France to play French champions AS Saint-Etienne and see which titular club was the best. A lot of hype surrounded that match, with the veteran Grijzestad team tipped by many to win the match.

It would be later revealed that coach Edwin Morris did not want to fly, but the club's owners persuaded him to.

The accident
On 16 May, the whole Grijzestad team, the coach and assistant, plus their wives and a trio of news reporters took off on an Ambassador Air flight at 7:30 PM. That day, rain was pouring down hard and there was a really heavy wind, but they were cleared to fly. The plane took off normally but it was discovered that the altimeter was broken. The pilots, who had experience, estimated the pale's altitude and believed they were at a good enough height. But, it was getting darker, rain was coming down harder and visibility was greatly reduced. Some time later, a powerful gust of wind sent the plane upwards and the pilot tried to compensate with steering down. But, the plane was much lower than thought and it quickly crashed into a field. An hour after, police and a medical team had shown up, and they managed to rescue the co-pilot, a stewardess and the team's reserve keeper.