Roger Byrne had every reason to feel pretty happy on the afternoon of February 6, 1958.
The 28-year-old was captain of his hometown club, Manchester United, the two-time reigning champions of England.
The fullback had married his childhood sweetheart, Joy, the previous year.
Not only was he skipper of a team many were calling the greatest Britain had ever seen, but he was being thought of by some as a future England captain too.
He had played in England's last 33 consecutive internationals, not missing out on his selection since his first appearance against Scotland in 1954 — not bad for someone who couldn't even make the RAF team when he did his national service, reduced to playing rugby to keep fit instead during his two-year term.
Now he was on his way back home from Belgrade where, the night before, Manchester United had drawn 3-3 against Yugoslav giants Crvena Zvezda — better known in the Anglosphere as Red Star Belgrade.
It put them into the semi-finals of the nascent UEFA European Cup competition for the second-straight season.
Yet, as he stood outside looking at the snowy vista of Munich-Riem Airport, there was no doubt a feeling of disquiet coursing through him.
It was bitterly cold that afternoon and when they landed in Germany — they'd had to stop and refuel to break up the 1,887km trip — a fountain of slush had flown up from under the wheels and showered the plane.
It looked like they may be stuck away from home for another night.
The stoppage and subsequent delay was a frustration to all the players.
In their previous European Cup tie against Czeckoslovakia's Dukla Prague in December, United had been caught out by heavy fog over Manchester, which meant they had to take a circuitous route back home via a ferry from Amsterdam to Harwich.
Fatigued from the extra travel, in their subsequent league match United could only draw 3-3 against strugglers Birmingham City at St Andrews and then lost 1-0 at home to mid-table Chelsea.
Any more issues with travel would vindicate those in the Football League who had tried to stop English teams from competing in this European Cup, preferring its policy of isolationism from the continent.
That's why the club had chartered the plane from British European Airways in the first place, to avoid delays.
This team, Busby's Babes was the nickname the press had coined for them, apt given the squad assembled by manager Matt Busby averaged just 22 years of age, had an incredibly bright future.
But the two-time defending champions were sitting in third place on the table, trailing league leaders Wolverhampton Wanderers by six points and Preston North End by one.
United's visitors to Old Trafford that coming weekend were Wolves — a top of the table clash to whet the appetite of football supporters across the land and one that United simply could not be under prepared for if they were to emulate the teams of Huddersfield Town and Arsenal that Herbert Chapman had set on the path towards three successive league titles in the 20s and 30s respectively.
But first, they had to get home.
Byrne re-entered the terminal building where the others waited before the group were called to reboard the plane.
But, half an hour later, they were back inside after the plane had to abort two take offs.
Pilots Captain James Thain and Captain Kenneth Rayment were assessing their options with the engineer.
With the conditions deteriorating and snow now falling heavily, Byrne and many of the 43 other passengers felt that there would be no chance of taking off today, with 21-year-old superstar Duncan Edwards sending a telegram to his land lady saying he would not be home until tomorrow.
But despite the issue with one of the engines and an over-acceleration issue common to that aircraft type, the pilots felt it was worth another attempt.
Heading back onto the plane, Byrne took up his position in the middle rows alongside 22-year-old Irish striker Billy Whelan, Ray Wood and Jackie Blanchflower.
The majority of the press who had travelled with the team were at the back of the plane, apart from Frank Taylor of the News Chronicle. He was up front, having a chat with goalscorers in Belgrade Bobby Charlton and Dennis Violett, with Northern Irish keeper Harry Gregg across the aisle.
The delay was straining the nerves of everyone.
"It's now or never," Bryne muttered grimly to Gregg as the plane taxied into position. It was 3:03pm when the plane was ready for take-off.
It would never get off the ground.
Slush at the end of the runway critically slowed the plane enough that it could not reach take-off speed.
As the plane careered towards the houses at the end of the runway, Whelan hauntingly said: "If this is death, then I am ready for it."
The plane skidded and smashed into houses at the end of the runway, splitting up and bursting into flames.
Gregg made several heroic interventions, returning to the plane and pulling out as many survivors as he could, including teammates Charlton and Viollet as well as the wife of a Yugoslavian diplomat Vera Lukic, her baby daughter Vesna, and her unborn son Zoran — Vera was pregnant at the time of the crash.
It was reported by some of the survivors that Byrne was left, eyes open but unseeing, as one of the 23 passengers who perished on that snowy afternoon.
He would never know that his wife was waiting at home in Manchester to give him news that he was going to be a father for the first time.
He never met his son, Roger Junior, who was born eight months later.
Byrne was one of the seven Busby Babes who were killed immediately in the crash, alongside Geoff Bent, Eddie Coleman, Mark Jones, David Pegg, Tommy Taylor and Whelan. Edwards, who many said had the talent to go on and be the greatest player England had ever seen, died more than two weeks later from his injuries.
There were 21 survivors, including the manager Matt Busby, although the legendary coach had the last rites read to him twice in hospital.
These Flowers of Manchester would never bloom again.
But their legacy was absolute and, from the ashes of Munich, the club would rise again.
Although United understandably struggled in the aftermath of the disaster, requiring loans of players from lowly Bishop Auckland FC while arch rivals Liverpool, Manchester City and Real Madrid all offered their support to enable the club to complete the 1957/58 season, the defiance was evident in their first game following the disaster, a 3-0 victory over Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup fifth round at Old Trafford.
United went on to reach the final of the cup that year, losing to Bolton Wanderers. They would lose in the European Cup semi-final too, 5-2 on aggregate against AC Milan.
Incredibly, they would finish second in the league the following season after Busby recovered from his injuries and rebuilt the club from the ground up.
Their league form fluctuated over the subsequent years, but the club won the FA Cup in 1963 before winning the league in 1964/65, just seven years after having the heart ripped from them in such devastating fashion.
In 1966, they reached the European Cup semi-finals for the third time, losing to Partizan Belgrade but in 1968, they would put their European ghosts to bed by beating Benfica 4-1 at Wembley to lift the European Cup for the very first time.
