CHRIS DUNLAVY remembers the tragic events of May 4, 1949 when Torino’s team plane crashed

IT was just before 5pm on May 4, 1949, when the storm clouds engulfed the Italian Airlines flight carrying Torino’s players back from a friendly in Lisbon.
Instruments were useless, visibility poor. So the pilot, Pierluigi Meroni, had elected to descend through the murk for a better view on his final approach.
It was to prove a terrible error. Moments later, the plane slammed with horrifying force into the unyielding stone wall of the Basilica perched atop Superga hill, exploding in a...