Deane McMinn was a figure skating judge who was serving as team manager for the United States Figure Skating team

United States Figure Skating Association

U.S. Figure Skating is the national governing body for the sport of figure skating on ice in the United States. It is recognized as such by the United States Olympic Committee "USOC" under the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act and is the United States member of the International Skating...

 attending the 1961 World Figure Skating Championships

World Figure Skating Championships

The World Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which elite figure skaters compete for the title of World Champion...

. He was killed along with all other members of the team in the crash of Sabena Flight 548

Sabena Flight 548

Sabena Flight 548, registration OO-SJB, was a Boeing 707 aircraft that crashed en route to Brussels, Belgium, from New York City on February 15, 1961, killing the entire United States Figure Skating team on its way to the 1961 World Championships in Prague, Czechoslovakia.The flight, which...

 en route to the competition.

McMinn, who lived in Lomita, California

Lomita, California

Lomita is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 20,256 at the 2010 census, up from 20,046 at the 2000 census...

, was a former ice dancer

Ice dancing

Ice dancing is a form of figure skating which draws from the world of ballroom dancing. It was first competed at the World Figure Skating Championships in 1952, but did not become a Winter Olympic Games medal sport until 1976....

 who competed at the regional and sectional level in the early 1950s. He judged at the 1960 Winter Olympics

1960 Winter Olympics

The 1960 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VIII Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event held between February 18 and 28, 1960 in Squaw Valley, California, United States. In 1955 at the 50th IOC meeting, the organizing committee made the surprise choice to award Squaw Valley as...

 and 1961 North American Figure Skating Championships

North American Figure Skating Championships

The North American Figure Skating Championships were a former elite figure skating competition for skaters from the United States and Canada. It was a biennial competition held between 1923 and 1971, with locations alternating between the two countries.Although the event was classified as an...

 in addition to many competitions in the United States. For example, at the 1960 United States Figure Skating Championships

1960 United States Figure Skating Championships

The 1960 United States Figure Skating Championships were held at the Civic Ice Arena in Seattle, Washington from January 27 through 30, 1960. In the ladies', men's, and pairs' divisions, the competitions were won by the defending champions Carol Heiss, David Jenkins, and Nancy Ludington/Ron...

, McMinn was on the judging panel for all four championship-level events.