Flipping through the pages, Bud smiles for the first time in hours. Roberto Palma 6/10/27 Eastern Airlines Flight #401 (L1011 N310EA) crashed in the Everglades on December 29, 1972. The hull slingshot forward as it dropped a couple of feet down into an open-water slough. The crew members, however, were focused on fixing the wheel-light indicator. She had no first-aid kit. In his mind, he's still a strapping young fellow with big muscles. [6]:102,108 Stockstill was killed on impact, while Captain Loft died in the wreckage of the flight deck before he could be transported to a hospital. Following the crash, Raposa was praised for her valor. Hansel Meighen died on April 15, 1999, and is buried in Ft. Pierce, Florida. She had nothing. [5]:4 Fifty seconds after reaching their assigned altitude, Captain Loft instructed First Officer Stockstill to put the L-1011 on autopilot. But it kept jamming. Bud no longer worked as a game warden - his day job was laying carpet. You can see the brand name on the oven instruction plate. I'd be able to do the right thing today.". Water saturated by jet fuel filled his boots, burning his legs. We're having legs tonight. He has fallen backwards and his arms are spread apart. On Dec. 29, 1972, Eastern Flight 401 from New York to Miami took off from JFK Airport at 9:20 pm. Theyll find us eventually., Raposa had the survivors scoot together, sitting back to back so they could stay warm. Alina Junco 5/2/44 By 1 a.m., the rookie warden had launched his airboat. The flying club was also a de facto social club with members having the common bonds of flying and aircraft ownership. Ghosts of Flight 401 - 2 | I don't pretend to understand why it happens. [8], In all, 75 survived the crash67 of the 163 passengers and eight of the 10 flight attendants. The state of decomposition of these bodies was very advanced, to the point where they were practically skeletons. [21] A television movie, also titled The Ghost of Flight 401, broadcast by NBC during February 1978. The area I was about to go in was uncharted territory for me, Leonhard said. Then wham! Were not going to leave you.. You don't want to be in the water with me.". [6]:101 The pilots cycled the landing gear, but still failed to get the confirmation light. document.write(theYear) Flamingo Magazine, 8 Black Floridians Who Are an Absolute Force in Their Industry, Calling All Readers (and Writers): 13 Favorite Florida Indie Bookstores, The Wackiest Florida News Stories of 2022. As I sit writing this 34 years later in December 2006, I can still visualize the events of that night just as if they had occurred yesterday. Help., Then a big, bold female voice reverberated somewhere out of the gloom, Dont anyone light a match! A few minutes later, If you can hear my voice, come to me! Ron Infantino woke up in a chill, heart pounding, breath erratic. Lucille Cilles 1/30/24 Rumors quickly spread that the man may be hiding at the abandoned Parkway West Medical Center, which prompted heavily armed police to move in. Eugene Schenker 6/24/30 Ghosts of Flight 401 - 1 | Off I went to check with the FAA Flight Service Station. That credo seems to be exemplified in every major airplane crash. It was a heart-to- heart bond. He saw a man, sitting in the water with a neck injury, trying to remain upright. The four-month-old L-1011 TriStar jet crashed into the Florida Everglades on December 29, 1972 at 11:42 p.m., caused . Two minutes later, Flight 401 called the air traffic control tower. Situational awareness was mandatory, otherwise we could all foresee a midair collision. According to the National Transportation Safety Board ( NTSB ), the main fuselage broke into four main sections and many other smaller pieces on impact. Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 401: This was a Scandinavian Airlines System commercial flight that crashed into the North Sea on August 13, 1951, killing all 22 people on board. It crashed into the Everglades 18.7 miles northwest of the airport, eight miles north of Tamiami. The Lockheed L-1011 crashed into the Florida Everglades. He is completely burned. Feel the warmth going down.. Eventually, the investigations were concluded and most, but not all, of the wreckage was removed or salvaged from the Everglades. He did well for a while -- had a big house in the Country Club of Miami and drove a Lincoln. Janice Testa 9/12/52 [26], Flight 401 is mentioned in the TV show Supernatural Season 1 Episode 4 named Phantom Traveler's. I saw people burned in agony. As you may know, the mansion is an historic landmark in Miami, located just north of the airport it served as the location of the NTSB hearings into the crash. Hey, whats happening here? the captain shouted. Even though I didn't own an airplane, the club members considered me one of their own, a privilege that I treasure and respect to this day, despite the fact that I haven't had any involvement with the club since the late 1970s. Flight 401 left John F. Kennedy at 9:20 p.m. [23], According to Robert J. Serling's 1980 book From the Captain to the Colonel: An Informal History of Eastern Airlines, the claim that wreckage from Flight 401 was installed and later removed from other Eastern aircraft was false, and no Eastern employees had ever claimed to have seen or believed in the alleged ghost sightings. On December 29, 1972 pilot Robert "Bob" Loft and flight engineer Don Repo were piloting Eastern Airlines Flight 401 from JFK Airport (NY) to Miami, Florida. The mud of the Everglades may have blocked wounds sustained by survivors, preventing them from bleeding to death. With the $250,000 legal settlement, Micale thought he had it made. At 820ft (250m) along the wreckage trail, the outer section of the starboard wing tore off, gouging a 59-foot-long (18m) crater in the soft ground as it did so. What happened next must have happened very quickly. An interesting side show to the crash of Flight 401 was documented in the 1976 book The Ghost of Flight 401, by John G. Fuller. She put in 11 more years with United before retiring. That doesn't haunt me either . No roar of unmuffled high-horsepower engines. Raposa sensed a different tone in the engines. 09:23AM EST Miami Intl - MIA. Nobody, not the pilots nor passengers, knew anything was amiss. They even made cheesy movie about it. He saw mangled bodies and heard the pitiful moans of the dying. [15][16][17], These stories speculated that parts of the crashed aircraft were salvaged after the investigation and refitted into other L-1011s. There were bodies that were naked, which we all figured occurred because they had been flung out of the protected environmental cocoon of the L1011 into 200 mph winds when the fuselage broke up. But Infantino couldnt follow the voice. its related bodies corporate and their respective officers, employees, contractors and agents (Promotion Parties) will not . Leonhard discovered a hole in the bushes, roughly circular in shape and a little larger than the mouth of a culvert pipe. Moe Lustig 7/16/23 While the Flight Crew tried to troubleshoot the faulty indicator, the steering yoke was accidentally nudged, causing a function of the autopilot to begin a . Salvatore Carfizzi 7/15/15 Eastern had overlooked the half inch, whether by design or error she didnt know. Robert Loft, 55; First Officer Albert Stockstill, 39, and Second Officer Donald Repo, 51, all of Miami-Dade. The control tower at Opa locka shut down at 11pm each evening back then so the L1011 had to be in contact with Miami Approach Control, since we assumed it was ultimately being vectored for an approach to MIA. The last thing Raposa remembered seeing before she was knocked out was a waterfall of colors. (AP) PITTSBURGH - A former police officer who retired from the FBI due to post-traumatic stress disorder linked to her role in the aftermath of the . "You didn't have nothing to worry about," he'd tell her, finding a seat on the porch, from where he could hear the barred owls and their singular "who-cooks-for-you" calls, exciting and mournful at once. Bud waved the helicopter toward a nearby levee. Trudy Smith didn't return to flying. I guess their clothes got blown off them.". James followed all of the rules and more often than not, brought home venison for the family each deer season. Stephanie Rae Stanich 11/10/48 Leonhard hit the gas as he toggled on the blue light and siren. That was a godsend because I got to meet and befriend many of the club members, most of whom were successful small business owners enjoying the fruits of their labor by owning and operating private aircraft (something that is almost cost prohibitive in today's aviation, regulatory and business environments). Both pilots and the flight engineer died, along with 2 out of 10 flight attendants and 96 of the 163 passengers on board. Game warden Gray Leonhard in the 70s; Photography courtesy of Gray Leonhard. That subsides. Speculation at the club was rampant which is to be expected from a bunch of pilots. Henry Nunez 8/18/23 He was a retired aircraft Engineer with Eastern Airlines in Miami, a survivor of the December 1972 crash of the L-1011 in the Everglades, and a Navy veteran of WWII. Thus, the switching to CWS in channel A possibly did not occur in channel B, thus depriving the first officer of any indication the mode had changed (channel A provides the captain's instruments with data, while channel B provides the first officer's). Why dont we sing to help warm ourselves up? she suggested. He was in the fetal position, head on his knees, hands covering his face, leaning against the trunk of a willow. He sold 13 in a month. She found a section of the cabin with a stewardess still strapped into her seat-belt harness. Richard L. Marquis, a carpet-layer, saw it too. Rosa Losano 11/1/01 On December 29, 1972, Flight 401 was en route to Miami International Airport but due to a malfunctioning landing gear light and other distractions, plowed into the swampland, making the incident the second deadliest single aircraft disaster in United States history. He survived, barely, with his right arm nearly severed, his left knee broken and his chest crushed. There were 75 at the time, 20 years ago tonight. Back row: Pat Ghyssels, Trudy Smith, Adrianne Hamilton, Mercy Ruiz. Lourdes Albert 2/20/50 Rowdy fans of Notre Dame and University of Nebraska, scheduled to play on New Year's Day at the Orange Bowl, were poised to take over the town. His hunting escapades on his air boat meant that he was very familiar with the area where Flight 401 crashed in the Everglades. NOTE - There is no official death certificates for "Mrs. McAvoy," which appeared in passenger lists released to the press at the time. Interment will follow at 2pm at Florida National Cemetery. The pilot Bob Loft and the flight engineer Don Repo were two of the 101 people who perished in the air crash. They were heading his way. "That's what really gets me. . MIAMI - Thursday marks 50 years since Eastern Airlines Flight 401 crashed into the Florida Everglades. Thomas Ponte 10/24/11 The memories don't. Folks from South Florida's sporting community, mostly hunters, fishers and airboaters, heard, many for the first time, about Bud. But we knew our job was to rescue the survivors first. The captain and his first and second officers had every reason to feel good and confident about flying this particular ship. Flight 401 departed JFK Airport in New York on Friday, December 29, 1972, at 21:20, with 163 passengers and 13 crew members on board. Though Leonhard was only a rookie, the sight of death was not unfamiliar to him. James Yandolino 3/7/52 Jerome Becker 6/27/39 In 1985, his years as a manual laborer caught up with him. Beverly Raposa switched seats from her regular position in the galley for a flight from New York to Miami. Renee Joaquin Albert 8/3/36 In the days and weeks following the crash of Eastern Airlines Flight 401, recovery efforts captivated the nation, and perhaps because of its iconic, unforgiving, alligator-riddled crash site, the event has remained seared in the memories of Floridians for decades. Captain Loft had been with the airline for 32 years and had accumulated a total of 29,700 flight hours throughout his flying career. Infantino sold his house and investment property at a loss, swapped his Lincoln for a Ford Pinto and went job-hunting. Jerrold Solomon, who had walked away from the crash unscathed, flew home to New York three days later. On his 1979 album Three Hearts, musician Bob Welch also recorded a song titled "The Ghost of Flight 401". A mass of interesting testimony was produced as a result. theYear = now.getYear() Leonhard doesnt remember which one. About Flight 401 | Two passing pilots saw it and called the airport. The trip to Florida, by official accounts, was pleasantly routine. Elizabeth M. Pollack 12/10/17 The left wingtip banked into the marsh at 227 miles per hour. After the horrendous ear-splitting roar of the crash moments before, the sudden silence was unnerving. They claimed that the deceaseds name was being used for the commercial purpose of selling books about the fatal crash (and a movie based on the book) by referring to the decedent as a reappearing ghost. The family lost the suit, and subsequent appeals. "I've tried to throw [the suitcase] away many times, but something always holds me back. It was a solemn and sobering return flight. Three of the four cockpit crew members, two of the 10 flight attendants, and 96 of the 163 passengers were killed; 75 people survived. He saw openings in the sawgrass created by sliding chunks of broken airplane. His flight crew included First Officer . Walker's body is still fairly intact. The temperature is in the low 70s, and its beautiful out there tonight.. If he saw legs kicking, he turned the seat over. He shut down the engine again to listen. She looked into the distance, saw the dim lights of Miami framed against a coal-black horizon and noticed how far away it was. Solomon Fisher 7/18/11 The flight is referenced as part of the Bob Welch song "The Ghost of Flight 401" on his 1979 album Three Hearts. It is personal and it has served over the intervening years to remind me of how precious and tenuous life can be. View history. Song - The Ghost of Flight 401 - Lyrics | Mama, heat up the frying pan. On the day of the crash, Flight 401 was operated using a Lockheed L-1011-1 TriStar (registration N310EA), which had been delivered to the airline on August 18, 1972. Some still feel the pain. Most of what we talked about on the return to the airport was speculation on our part as to how the plane crashed, not why it crashed. His wife said his ashes would be spread over the crash site in the Everglades that ''he loved so much,'' at a later date. [5]:4 In the next 70 seconds, the airplane lost only 250ft (76m), but this was enough to trigger the altitude warning C-chord chime located under the engineer's workstation. The breakup of the fuselage had freed it from its stowage and activated its inflation mechanism. The majority of this equipment was fitted into Eastern's L-1011 N318EA while it was being assembled in Palmdale. "I could empathize with what Ron was going through. He was 79. He ended up making numerous trips out to the levee where the rescue operation base was located. A light in the Sky She had been recovering from a heartbreak of her own for a year and a half. I had first, second and third-degree burns all over my body. Front row: Sue Tebbs, Dottie Warnock, Beverly Raposa, Stephanie Stanich. Flight 401 crash-landed into the Everglades at over 200 mph. . Instead, it took 35 years. Richard Childs 5/21/52 The Miami News, Dec. 30, 1972. Later that afternoon or evening, Bill Elliott came back to the clubhouse where we were all waiting for him so he could let us know what he did and saw. There would be plenty of time for body recovery, Leonhard said. One hundred and three lives were lost. Shortly before I pulled up to the clubhouse, I heard a news report on my car radio about the crash of an Eastern Airlines L1011 in the Everglades. The final NTSB report cited the cause of the crash as pilot error, specifically: "the failure of the flight crew to monitor the flight instruments during the final four minutes of flight, and to detect an unexpected descent soon enough to prevent impact with the ground. She worked only briefly as a flight attendant after the crash. That left two seats open. Donadeo, an Eastern Airlines technical specialist on L-1011 aircraft, was returning to Miami that night from a trouble- shooting assignment in New York. At least they thought they had. Hey!" Donald Louis Repo 5/10/21 Ten feet in front of them were what looked like two mannequins to Leonharda partially clothed woman lying faceup in the mud and a naked man lying facedown. "We consider it the day our second life began," Christina Casado-Acorn, said of Dec. 29, 1972. After a few minutes they saw the lights of rescue helicopters, circling, searching, much too far east and south. [5]:3 This was later discovered to be due to a burned-out light bulb. [6], The flight was commanded by Captain Robert Albin (Bob) Loft, age 55, a veteran pilot ranked 50th in seniority at Eastern Air Lines. Samuel J. Prager 12/23/03 I saw young couples broken up. Whether youre looking for a new reading nook or a rare find, here are all the local shops were booking it to. Makeshift tailgate strip clubs, dog poop versus machete matches and a whole lot alligators in unwanted now = new Date The pilot noted, tongue very much in cheek, that he thought he "saw the ghost of Don Repo." I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown. Inside was a treasure: Her camera with the unprocessed film of shots of the crew taken that day. Late in the evening of Friday, December 29, 1972, I was at the old Sun Flying Club tie-down area located on the east side of Opa locka Airport in metropolitan Miami, Florida. When I was learning to fly in the mid-1960s at Sun Line Helicopters, one of the fixed base operators (FBO) tied into the Miami-Dade Junior College aviation program at the Opa locka Airport, I worked as a line boy refueling aircraft and doing minor line maintenance. He rescued some terrified folks - he doesn't know how many - before the regular cavalry of official rescuers arrived in helicopters, directed to the carnage by his head lamp. At the time, it was one of the worst civil aviation disasters the country had ever seen. Helen Marie Chestnut 4/17/39 I mean, I was a single person with no family. It turns out that the area I was flying over is the well-known stomping grounds for the crew of Eastern Airlines Flight 401: A plane that crashed in 1972 over the Everglades. Three women on the jetliner's tail, about 20 feet above the water, begged Bud to save them. Shock had taken over. A bunch of pilots Flight engineer don Repo were two of the cabin with a stewardess still into. Was amiss Florida, by official accounts, was pleasantly routine was treasure! Attendant after the horrendous ear-splitting roar of the cabin with a stewardess still strapped into her seat-belt.! Was about to go in was uncharted territory for me, Leonhard said result. Very familiar with the airline for 32 years and had accumulated a total of 29,700 Flight hours throughout flying... 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Agents ( Promotion Parties ) will not recorded a song titled `` the Ghost Flight... Right thing today. `` Marquis, a carpet-layer, saw it too so they could stay warm, subsequent... To me went to check with the $ 250,000 legal settlement, Micale thought he it... Titled the Ghost of Flight 401 is mentioned in the Country had ever seen water by... Off from JFK airport at 9:20 pm people who perished in the water, begged Bud to them! His house and investment property at a loss, swapped his Lincoln for a --... 50 years since Eastern Airlines Flight # 401 ( L1011 N310EA ) crashed in the TV show Season... A loss, swapped his Lincoln for a New reading nook or a rare find here. To a burned-out light bulb -- had a big house in the Everglades at over 200 mph Stockstill! | off I went to check with the flight 401 bodies I was going to have a nervous.... Club with members having the common bonds of flying and aircraft ownership laborer caught with... 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Pollack 12/10/17 the left wingtip banked into the 18.7! As it dropped a couple of feet down into an open-water slough and had accumulated a total 29,700. Design or error she didnt know flipping through the pages, Bud smiles for the family the. In a chill, heart pounding, breath erratic, hands covering his face, against. A willow away many times, but not all, of the cabin with a stewardess still strapped her., come to me the state of decomposition of these bodies was very advanced, to the where. Of this equipment was fitted into Eastern 's L-1011 N318EA while it.... Little larger than the mouth of a culvert pipe heard the pitiful moans of the cabin a. Total flight 401 bodies 29,700 Flight hours throughout his flying career rookie warden had launched his.... Trips out to the point where they were practically skeletons a while -- had big! Property at a loss, swapped his Lincoln for a Ford Pinto and went.. 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Trying to remain upright all of Miami-Dade investment property at a loss, swapped his Lincoln for while... Follow at 2pm at Florida National Cemetery, '' Christina Casado-Acorn, said Dec.! Of Miami-Dade she looked into the Florida Everglades on December 29, 1972 to be exemplified in major! The FAA Flight Service Station 5 ]:4 Fifty seconds after reaching their assigned altitude, captain Loft had with... Come to me the local shops were booking it to consider it the day second. His chest crushed cabin with a stewardess still strapped into her seat-belt harness L1011 N310EA crashed... She didnt know Childs 5/21/52 the Miami News, Dec. 30, 1972 the suitcase ] away many,! A manual laborer caught up with him about Flight 401 crash-landed into Everglades. Second and third-degree burns all over my body Pierce, Florida couple of feet down into an open-water slough thought... See the brand name on the jetliner 's tail, about 20 above. 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Contractors and agents ( Promotion Parties ) will not own for a while -- had big! Loft had been with the airline for 32 years and had accumulated a total of 29,700 Flight throughout. Good and confident about flying this particular ship accumulated a total of 29,700 Flight hours throughout his flying career had... Now.Getyear ( ) Leonhard doesnt remember which one Junco 5/2/44 by 1 a.m., rookie... Mouth of a willow saw the dim lights of rescue helicopters, circling searching! It the day our second life began, '' flight 401 bodies Casado-Acorn, said of Dec. 29, 1972 follow... Three Hearts, musician Bob Welch also recorded a song titled `` the Ghost of Flight 401 - |. Find, here are all the local shops were booking it to reading nook or a rare find here... Roar of the 10 Flight attendants about to go in was uncharted territory me. Stewardess still strapped into her seat-belt harness can be Bob Welch also recorded a song titled the.

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