SEVENTY-ONE years ago yesterday, a plane carrying 78 rugby union enthusiasts and five crew fell from the sky into a field near Sigingstone.

Three survived in what was at that point the world's most fatal disaster in aviation history. What went wrong and how are the victims remembered today?

Five Nations

The most fresh-faced sports fans among us may not know that before Italy joined in 2000, the Northern Hemisphere's foremost rugby tournament was called "The Five Nations".

And it was to watch a match between Wales and Ireland in Dublin's Ravenhill Stadium that the 78 chartered a private plane for the fateful flight.

The aircraft had been initially booked for 72 passengers, but the plane had been stripped to accommodate another six for the exciting occasion.

The outgoing flight was uneventful, as was the game.

Wales won 3–6 with a try from Lewis Jones dutifully converted by Malcolm Thomas.

The mood was celebratory, the weather conditions clear as the 78 bundled into the return flight back to Llandow Aerodrome.

Star Girl

The plane was an Avro 689 Tudor V called Star Girl. British-engineered when American planes were all the rage, just 38 were built - six of which crashed between 1947 and 1959.

None of such crashes were nearly as deadly as that of the Star Girl.

According to an eyewitness known only by his surname 'Russell', the plane was spotted at 3:05 pm approaching the runway at an "abnormally low altitude". Its landing gear was down.

The pilot appeared to attempt to correct the descent by increasing the power of the engines and brought the plane up. The aircraft rose steeply to 100 m (300 ft) attaining a nose-up attitude of 35 degrees to the vertical.

It was at this point that Star Girl stalled. She plummeted towards the ground with the right wingtip impacting first, followed by the nose.

The plane turned clockwise and finally came to a rest near a field beside Park Farm near Sigingstone.

There was no explosion on impact or ground fire, just a scene of crumpled metal and bodies lying in the grass.

Remembering

Eleven survived the initial impact, eight of whom perished from their injuries in the ensuing months.

Of the three survivors, two were sitting in additional seats bolted in at the back of the tail section and were able to walk away from the crash.

One was miraculously in the toilet at the time of the crash. Although knocked unconscious upon impact and hospitalised for four months, he survived.

A plaque commemorating the victims was installed at the crash site on the 40th anniversary of the incident by "relatives and friends of the victims, the survivors, eyewitnesses, former Welsh rugby player and others."

Every year, a poppy wreath is placed there to commemorate the tragedy.