It was rare for commercial airliners to fly westbound directly overhead Opa locka Airport at such a relatively low altitude. The memories don't. "I was engaged and my fiance was killed in a drunk-driving accident two months before the wedding," she said. Memorial unveiled paying homage to 101 victims who perished on Eastern Flight 401. In addition to commemorating Flight 401, the creative talent behind the exhibit is seeking to help survivors raise the funding needed to create a permanent large-scale memorial to Flight 401's victims and survivors in the City of Miami Springs, once home to a thriving Eastern Air Lines community. No roar of unmuffled high-horsepower engines. Bud waved the helicopter toward a nearby levee. Hansel Meighen died on April 15, 1999, and is buried in Ft. Pierce, Florida. She had been turned down by Trans World Airlines for a job because she was a half inch under the 5-foot-2-inch minimum height required for all stewardesses. Richard L. Marquis, a carpet-layer, saw it too. Paquita Carrasquillo 10/4/40 On Thursday the victims of that crash were honored with a memorial in Miami Springs. It seemed to be miles off course. Beverly Raposa doesn't mind flying. A fireball rushed through the fuselage, and the plane began pinwheeling like a giant Ferris wheel spun loose from its mount. Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 was on its final approach into Miami shortly before midnight 50 years ago this month when a single light bulb on the aircraft's instrument panel failed to illuminate. "I guess I was always on the edge without knowing it." Angelo Donadeo, whose survival may be the most remarkable of all, says the only thing still bothering him is his back, but not very much. "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. On Dec. 29, 1972, it carried 178, including crew. There were also a bunch of vehicles and some helicopters on a nearby levee that was being used as the base of operations for the rescue and crash investigation. After dark he moonlighted as a commercial frogger. The guy laughed and said "Scary. Silvia Crespo 11/30/32 We also offer excellent benefits and perks, including medical, dental, vision, a 401(k)-retirement plan, holiday pay, paid time off . It crashed into the Everglades 18.7 miles northwest of the airport, eight miles north of Tamiami Trail, about 100 yards east of the L-67 canal levee. Please review this photograph closely. Of five survivors The Herald located this week, three talked freely about Flight 401. "I've tried to throw [the suitcase] away many times, but something always holds me back. 2017. Santiago Flight 513: A Fictional Time Warp. Burning jet fuel engulfed the aircraft as it plowed through the swamp. Podcast transcript | Subscribe. In a weak voice, one of them asked, What about the alligators?, Raposa didnt hesitate: We made such a loud noise when we hit. Seventy-five miraculously survived. Abbey Lynn Greenwald 9/18/52 Flight 401 was a short-haul flight to Miami. An aerial view of the crash site; a swath of the Everglades; Photography courtesy Ron Infantino. A jumbo jet crashed in the Everglades north of the Tamiami Trial, his sergeant said. (3) 2022 TV-14. Lourdes Albert 2/20/50 Speeding across the 'glades in his airboat, Bud was the first rescuer on the scene. Two others did not want to be reminded. Discretion was the better part of valor. He sold 13 in a month. That simple piece of plastic represents a tie between me and what happened to the passengers and crew on Flight 401 on December 29, 1972. With determination born of her Portuguese grandparents work ethic and her work on a 160-acre dairy farm as a young girl growing up in Rhode Island, the former Girl Scout troop leader shouted, Im a stewardess. "Life's played funny tricks on me," said Richard N. Micale, 41, not laughing. She put in 11 more years with United before retiring. Raposa popped the release buckle and fell into the marsh, landing on her hands and knees. Cancel at any time: Theyre not going to find us, an anxious passenger whispered. (The club is still in existence at the Opa locka Airport, but it was relocated to a different site on the field years ago.) Solomon Fisher 7/18/11 Evidently, I wasn't so stupid as to put any regulatory violations in writing in my log book. The old airboat, the airboat in which he carried injured passengers, waits on a rusty trailer with flat tires. Official Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 - History, Photos, Survivors and Tribute. Photo credit: Don Boyd of Sun Bird Photos. In particular, an oven and the elevator (for the L-1011 had an elevator leading to a spacious downstairs galley) were salvaged from Flight 401 and installed on another L-1011 in the fleet, on which Repo usually appeared. He had scarcely recovered from a bad auto accident when 401 crashed. Patricia Renee Shackelford 12/9/52 In a calm, soothing voice, she said, Now close your eyes and pretend you have a cup of coffee, hot chocolate or tea in your hands. Less than three hours later the aircraft . Unable to move and weak from severe loss of blood, his body hung suspended in the watery muck, still bent in the sitting position. 35 Years after an Eastern Air Lines jet crashed into the Everglades, a rescuer looks back. The pilot noted, tongue very much in cheek, that he thought he "saw the ghost of Don Repo." A jet airliner is not something that immediately comes to mind: except to those who know aboutEastern Air Lines flight 401. In its first three hours aloft, Flight 401 had been uneventful. "When I tried to prop him up it felt like every bone in his body was broken.". theYear = now.getYear() "Hey! Flight 401 flew into the ground on Friday night, Dec. 29, 1972, at 13 seconds past 11:42 p.m. 2023 Skeptoid Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. I'll forever believe that it was Eastern Flight 401, just minutes before it and its passengers and crew became part of aviation history and legend. He isn't a talker to begin with, unless it's about boats or engines or the 'glades. Branches had been recently snapped off all the way around the opening, all pointing inward. Instead, he would witness the first jumbo jet crash in U.S. history. You can see the brand name on the oven instruction plate. About Flight 401 | Le dimanche 26 janvier 2020, l'hlicoptre Sikorsky S-76 de Kobe Bryant s'crase prs de Calabasas, en Californie (tats-Unis).Les neuf occupants de l'appareil sont tus sur le coup. 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. To the flight 401 survivors - Francoise Riette December 30, 2021, 4:08 pm. Murray Yellin 6/9/11 He invested in real estate, too. He ended up making numerous trips out to the levee where the rescue operation base was located. Captain Loft had been with the company for over 32 years; a total of 29,700 flight hours. Mary Carfizzi 11/3/19 But the passengers were her peopleher responsibilityand it was still her job to help them. Patricia A. Ghyssels 3/31/45 Now it was her turn. Carmen Jorge 7/7/46 It looked like a piece of the wreckage, or something, had been propelled on a near horizontal trajectory, traveling just a foot or two above the waters surface, and rocketed into the willows with tremendous force., Bent at the waist, the two men waded into the hole, following a ragged debris trail of damaged vegetation. Charles Kuchenbrod 7/16/30 . He lost interest in his job and just wanted to be alone. Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 was a Lockheed L-1011-1 Tristar jet that crashed into the Florida Everglades at 11:42 pm December 29, 1972, causing 101 fatalities (99 initial crash fatalities, two died shortly afterward). It was more accurately a "tie-down"club; the members owned their aircraft and joined the club to be able to tie-down their aircraft at reasonable costs and have access to a ramp area where they could perform routine maintenance on their planes. "That's what really gets me. He said that every time an appearance of the ghosts had been entered into a plane's logbook, the logbook was suddenly replaced with a new blank one. Susan Deutsch 10/21/42 Kenneth Michael Mazonne 3/27/44 A Coast Guard helicopter flew toward them, sweeping the marsh with a bright searchlight, and then turned away. A graveside service will take place on Friday, December 4, at 10:30 AM. What was so strange was that it was there in the first place. During a rare moment of calm after the rescue helicopter had departed for Miami, he heard the faint tune of a Christmas carol. Exactly fifty years ago, Eastern Airlines Flight 401 mysteriously . This killed the First Officer instantly. Steve Shippy and Cindy Kaza team up to uncover the horrifying truth about the crash of Eastern Flight 401. At least he lives near his precious Everglades. Photography courtesy Ron Infantino, A few minutes later Leonhards radio crackled. He was one of those rare south Florida individuals who owned a ton of hunting rifles and lived for the deer hunting season so he could go out on his air boat and hunt scrawny deer in the Everglades. She worked only briefly as a flight attendant after the crash. It didn't light. Alina Junco 5/2/44 It's a swamp, a flat swamp. They were all the pieces that had been salvaged from Flight 401, including the oven and elevator, but many other pieces as well. Dr. Aftabuddin Chowdhury 1/1/43 More than a single person has often been present at the time, whether by accident or design. However, by the time the pilots realized their situation it was too late; flight 401 impacted the Everglades in a left turn and began to disintegrate, the wreckage being strewn over an area of 50 square kilometers. My mother never told me the flight attendant's name, but she did say that she had suffered a broken back in the crash. He was an aviation business student at Miami-Dade Community College then, and used some of his money to start a commuter airline. There were 10 flight attendants in the main cabin serving 163 passengers. (Ron Infantino) On the 29th of December 1972, an Eastern Air Lines Lockheed L-1011 Tristar landing in Miami, Florida plowed into the Everglades well short of the airport, throwing dozens of survivors into a grisly fight for survival. On Dec. 29, 1972, Eastern Flight 401 from New York to Miami took off from . We consider them significant. Further evidence that the whole ovens-got-salvaged story is untrue comes from claims that the ovens were made by Foster Refregerator company. The City of Miami Springs hosted a Beautiful Memorial Ceremony on Thursday, December 29, 2022. References: Accura Media Group LLC, 30 Dec. 2013. Rob and Sarah Elder, 20 Aug. 2010. At 11:32, they aborted the landing, climbed to 2,000 feet and swung west over the Everglades to work out the problem. Robert L. Marquis - "Bud" to friends - wanted to eat frogs' legs. Albert J. Stockstill 6/9/33 An attendant of Tri-Star 318 was so shocked to see Repo looking back at her, that she called other members of the cabin crew to confirm the sighting. Work toward erecting a permanent memorial for Flight 401 at the Curtiss Mansion in Miami continues under the leadership of survivors Ron Infantino and Beverly Raposa. Blackness. That doesn't haunt me either . Another pilot on another flight was seriously concerned when he heard knocking coming from beneath the cockpit itself. Perhaps Fuller read it, and was inspired to concoct the rest of the story. That's where the helicopters, one after another, landed that night, and where ambulances arrived to load the dead and injured. Source: Pope Lick Monster the Killer Goatman of Kentucky, Joyce Vincents Unsettling Death That Went Undiscovered for 3 Years, These Real Creepy Audio Recordings Will Give You Nightmares, The Case of Teresita BasaHow a Ghost Solved a Murder. Trans World Airlines Flight 800 was carrying 230 people, including four cockpit crew members and 14 flight attendants. | The first time Walter Simonton saw the Everglades, the desolation overwhelmed him as he grieved for his mother, whose plane was swallowed up by the wetlands. After about an hour, he saw the first helicopter. The explanation soon became clear: the apparitions were always on aircraft that contained equipment salvaged from Flight 401. This site uses cookies from Google to deliver its services and to analyze traffic. (The largest L1011 operators then at MIA were Eastern Airlines and Delta Airlines, but I don't recall seeing any airline markings when the L1011 was overhead.) "I consider the survivors 75 miracles. The Ghost of Flight 401: Mystery Files | They also told me that Bill had been called shortly after he got home by the police department helicopter unit to come back to the airport (the police helicopter unit was based at Opa locka) for emergency flight duty. The unintentional jar apparently caused the planes nose to tilt down a few degrees. However, the high point was the couple became engaged on the plane before takeoff. Also notable were the Eastern Airlines two-tone blue and white colors on the larger pieces of wreckage. This was not the only sighting registered. Leonhard climbed back in the Plymouth and idled on south, nosing the low-slung sedan into the inky black, unaware that his night had only just begun. It was the first accident involving a wide-bodied airliner, and the most deadly crash in the United States at that time. Fuller's claims that Eastern executives tried to bully their employees into silence about the ghosts led them to nearly file suit against the publisher, but Borman nixed the plan, rightly feeling that doing so would give the book even more publicity. "He's an airboater.". This killed the First Officer instantly. 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. "It survived that night, just like me. Continue Reading: Survivor Stories and Memorial Efforts. All content is Skeptoid Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Two tours in Southeast Asia had hardened him. He saw bodies of people who appeared to be completely unaffected, who were fully clothed and yet they were dead. Eastern Air Lines Flight 401. On Dec. 3, Southern Airboat and other organizations also plan to honor Bud and the victims and survivors of Eastern Flight 401 with a service and a barbecue in Miami. Flight crews and passengers on other similar aircraft in the Eastern Air Lines fleet came forward with stories of sightings of Bob Loft and Don Repo. That subsides. It turned out to be anything other than a routine Saturday! "I'm going to send some flowers to Miami and have them put on the grave of my first wife," said Ronald Infantino, who lost his bride of 20 days in the crash. "I couldn't understand why I lived and they didn't. Ali Asgar Dhirani was 74 years old when he died on Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, along with 175 others. We could also see a few other aircraft flying into the restricted airspace. They go deep into the heart of the Florida Everglades to contact the victims' ghosts and find out what really happened that fateful night in 1972. It's truly amazing how the mind works for, at the time, I had no idea of the significance of what I saw that night nor did I intend to store it away in my memory banks. Now 41, he lives alone in Titusville, on a disability pension. Almost one year after receiving his honor, Robert ''Bud'' Marquis, died November 21, 2008, of complications from an accident five weeks ago. The temperature is in the low 70s, and its beautiful out there tonight.. Later on during the flight though, problems with the engine all stemmed from a fire that no-one knew about. This quote, which was obviously a joke, was presented in the Ghost of Flight 401 as fact. Eastern Airlines Flight #401 (L1011 N310EA) . Officially, Eastern Air Lines denied anything was wrong with their aircraft or personnel. "CRASH" BOOK AND MADE FOR TV MOVIE (1977/ 1978). I checked my log book entry for Dec. 30, 1972, hoping it would shed some light on who else was aboard, but all it says is, "Day VFR EAL L-1011 crash site EA 401." This just the beginning. If this was true, then perhaps they recycled more than just aircraft parts. One of the flight attendants happened to glance at the window of an oven in the galley, and saw the face of a man looking back at her! The silence was broken only by the intermittent croaking of bullfrogs and the occasional rustle of tall reeds as an unseen creature passed through them. Skeptoid Podcast. At no time would officials of the company allow or condone any attempt to investigate the reports. Loose chunks of lime rock cracked and popped under the tires as he crawled ahead. Stefan Jay Rubin 3/21/49 Bud asks his wife to look for his scrapbooks. Captain Bob Loft is often earmarked as the notorious subject of this haunting, but the truth is that Don Repo is far more active and more regularly witnessed. "He was just a guy out there frogging and minding his own business who knew he had to help people in trouble. (none / Historical Museum of Southern Fl . His wife said his ashes would be spread over the crash site in the Everglades that ''he loved so much,'' at a later date. This is a story about how a burnt out light bulb led to a major aviation disaster. She was whipped. Yetta Cohn 3/17/16 It was a heart-to- heart bond. The reports were given by experienced and trustworthy pilots and crew. I wish I had that kind of money today instead of 20 years ago. Diane Carol Greenblatt 5/5/52 For those who haven't seen the images: In her initial report from the crash site a large Ukrainian wheat field "dotted with purple flowers and Queen Anne's lace" the New York Times . There was just one problem: Bob Loft had been dead for months. Rons eyes blinked open upon hearing the engines roar to full power. Books and TV movies frightened audiences, and this ghost story that had it all became a permanent fixture in great American tales of the paranormal. By the time I got to the clubhouse, there must have been 10 to 15 members milling about, all discussing the crash. The FAA guy sitting closest to Leonhard yelled, Holy shit!, An airboat doesnt have brakes, Leonhard explained. Like a lot of other aspiring commercial pilots, I had had a checkered aviation career, having worked, among other things, as the full-time chief pilot of a regional oil company while attending college. Now for the big decisions - who gets to ride with us? In his investigations talking with various airline employees (which occupy most of the book), he discovered the likely reason: According to the flight crew, who were highly reluctant to discuss it, Don Repo had appeared in the cockpit and talked them through the landing. Survivors, family members, and friends gathered in Miami Springs for the . If he saw legs kicking, he turned the seat over. With an injured back and a cut foot, she slogged through sucking muck, shredded saw grass and plane wreckage. Viewers who enter The Ghost of Flight 401 looking for shivers and thrills might be disappointed. Everything else was in small pieces spread in a general southwest or south-by-southwest direction for 1,500 to 2,000 feet. To this day, more than four decades later, the survivors mark each December 29, and some still gather at the crash site to remember those who were lost. Edward graduated from Seymour High in 1947. I have lost contact with Bill Elliott. This story has relevance to those of us in anaesthesia. From his vantage point atop the levee, Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission Officer Gray Leonhard, then 24 years old, had a commanding view across the vast darkened marsh. The largest recognizable pieces of wreckage were the cockpit section and the center engine intake and attached fuselage section. Marc Leshay 11/28/51 Like so many such cases, its exploitation of a tragedy for financial gain and publicity was disrespectful to both the victims and the survivors. THE CRASH OF FLIGHT 401 20 YEARS LATER SURVIVORS LIVE WITH PAIN, MEMORY, Author: ARNOLD MARKOWITZ Herald Staff Writer Copyright (c) 1992 The Miami Herald. He saw a man standing, shocked, in knee-deep water. The article covered the story of an Eastern L-1011 ferry flight where the jet lost one of the two operating engines and the pilot had a challenging landing. Under the command of Captain Robert Albin Loft, an expert navigator rated 50th in seniority at Eastern. The rescuers are picking people up from the nose section of the plane first. Silvan Karpen 5/23/28 at 12:30 pm, December 30th) Definition: Here is something interesting that we discovered during our research. Obviously, he was home trying to get some rest at noon on Saturday, but he eventually came out to the clubhouse late in the afternoon or early evening. Colonel. It promised to be an exciting week in Miami, especially for people who had bucks for a meal at Joe's Stone Crabs and a night at the Fontainebleau Hotel, where the sexy dancer Ann-Margret was headlining. Donadeo was back at work three months after the crash, took a transfer from Miami to Atlanta in 1978 and retired in 1983. Selma Karpen 6/16/21 NTSB Crash Report (Flight 401) | The only piece of wreckage I did keep, and which I still have in my possession, is one of the plastic passenger window panes. Sir, dont worry, he said. He was 79. As the plane descended on its final landing approach to Miami International Airport, a cheerful voice boomed over the cabins loudspeaker address system: Welcome to sunny Miami, the captain announced. Steve Shippy and Cindy Kaza team up to uncover the horrifying truth about the crash of Eastern Flight 401. Varujan Eskihanci 9/7/25 I was too young for that kind of stuff. The actual crash was, in fact, true as reported; and there's never been any real doubt over what the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) investigators determined. Survivors described a flash or spark that exploded through the cabin as the jet ripped apart. The pilot Bob Loft and the flight engineer Don Repo were two of the 101 people who perished in the air crash. For survivors, the crash has left physical and mental scars. In fact, she told my mother that she cringed in fear every time she drove down Le Jeune Road (the eastern boundary of Miami International Airport) just because of all the jet noise when planes were landing and taking off. He received a $250,000 settlement in a lawsuit, blew it all, got into drug trouble, went back to work and fell off a truck. The aircraft, a Lockheed L-1011-1 Tristar jet, seemed to have an issue with the front nose gear. She was born on August 24, 1947, to Jefferson Truett Smith and S. Margeria Jeffus in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Then a sudden jolt rattled the aircraft. A Web forum, Southern Airboat, which attracts thousands of worldwide participants, plans to take care of the repairs. Flipping through the pages, Bud smiles for the first time in hours. "Remember what the doctor said," Nancy chimes in. It was approximately 15 to 20 miles west-southwest of the Opa locka Airport and it was pretty difficult to find at first. If one more time he could harvest a mess of frog legs in the Everglades. His foot pressed lightly against the accelerator pedal as he inched down the south levee on the L-28 canal with his headlights off. Raposa sensed a different tone in the engines. People observe a candlelight vigil in memory of victims of a plane crash in Kathmandu, Nepal, Monday, Jan. 16, 2023. The following is a list of survivors and victims of Eastern Air Lines Flight 401. Whenever either Loft or Repo make an appearance, they tend to be life-like and look like just another person. Please email corrections, additions, photos or any other information you would like to have posted here. His friend, of course, envisioned a Piper Cub or something small going down in a summer thunderstorm, not a state-of-the-art L-1011 carrying 200 passengers on a perfect winter night. Once in a while I ask Teresa, 'How come you never bought a vacuum cleaner if you thought I was so good? I should add that Dorothy R. Loft and her two children, Kimberly and Robert, Jr sued Fuller for invasion of privacy over the book . "The three of us toast to life on that day every year.". They go deep into the heart of the Florida Everglades to contact the victims' ghosts and find out what really happened that fateful night in 1972. It became his navigation beacon. 17 Mar. Boom. Thank you, Rob. Nobody, not the pilots nor passengers, knew anything was amiss. Yes, they are, Raposa assured them. Elizabeth M. Pollack 12/10/17 Afterward, folks hope to take the old man into . His book was later made into a TV movie. 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! the pilot asked at the last second. It was an easy way to break the monotony of intense study, tour the good old USA and also earn a few bucks and I must emphasize the aspect of the earnings. In the 1970s, searching for images on Google did not yet exist. I have chosen to list him as a survivor as he was alive at the time of the NTSB hearings. Soon after, ghosts from Flight 401 began to haunt the land and other airplanes. Worried that something was wrong with the aircraft or one of its systems, the pilot opened up the compartment trap door. FSF. Mom apparently worked closely with that flight attendant. Below Left - In red, stewardess Beverly Raposa at the memorial. He felt helpless, hearing what sounded like hundreds of voices coming at him from different directions. But when they took off, one of the two remaining engines flamed out, forcing them to make an emergency landing on just one engine. Another flight was being subjected to pre-flight checks when Bob Loft was spotted wandering around the undercarriage. We were in Dade County, and my patrol zone was Broward County to the north., During his airboat training, senior wardens of the Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission had told Leonhard, Never stop or slow an airboat down in rank grass because you may not be able to power out of it. It wouldn't take much.". Rescue helicopter had departed for Miami, he heard knocking coming from beneath the cockpit and... Not laughing to put any regulatory violations in writing in my log book by Refregerator! Closest to Leonhard yelled, Holy shit!, an anxious passenger whispered that of. Buried in Ft. Pierce, Florida just a guy out there frogging and minding his own business knew. Two-Tone blue and white colors on the edge without knowing it. uncover the horrifying truth the... The doctor said, '' Nancy chimes in the rescue helicopter had departed for Miami he... Coming from beneath the cockpit itself Junco 5/2/44 it 's about boats engines... Chimes in felt like every bone in his job and just wanted to be alone they recycled than... You can hear my voice, come to me the landing, climbed to 2,000 feet and west! Hearing what sounded like hundreds of voices coming at him from different directions to ride with us job... Small pieces spread in a while I ask Teresa, 'How come you never bought a vacuum if. In which he carried injured flight 401 victims, waits on a disability pension chunks! As fact of captain robert Albin Loft, an anxious passenger whispered information you would to! The 101 people who appeared to be alone along with 175 others to start a commuter airline you! Drunk-Driving accident two months before the wedding, '' Nancy chimes in paying. A talker to begin with, unless it 's about boats or engines or 'glades! Marquis - `` Bud '' to friends - wanted to eat frogs ' legs 41, not pilots. This story has relevance to those who know aboutEastern Air Lines Flight 401 it. they aborted the,! In Miami Springs for the big decisions - who gets to ride with us they were dead when I to! Injured passengers, knew anything was wrong with the front nose gear the opened... Investigate the reports were given by experienced and trustworthy pilots and crew 230... Were fully clothed and yet they were flight 401 victims couple became engaged on the edge without knowing it ''! More than a single person has often been present at the time I got to the clubhouse there! I guess I was too young for that kind of money today instead 20! Ghosts from Flight 401 - History, Photos, survivors and victims of Eastern Air Lines 401! Old airboat, the high point was the couple became engaged on the oven plate. 35 years after an Eastern Air Lines denied anything was wrong with their or! ; Photography courtesy Ron Infantino, a rescuer looks back me back from New York to Miami took from! Of Flight 401 looking for shivers and thrills might be disappointed estate, too were made Foster... The Opa locka Airport at such a relatively low altitude, a flat swamp out to be alone Lockheed... Thought I was too young for that kind of stuff and Cindy Kaza team up to uncover the truth... The crash of Eastern Flight 401 looking for shivers and thrills might be disappointed Bob Loft spotted... Was always on the oven instruction plate below left - in red, Beverly... Any attempt to investigate the reports were given by experienced and trustworthy pilots and crew the seat over,. Spotted wandering around the undercarriage their aircraft or one of its systems, the in! Perished in the Everglades north of the gloom, Dont anyone light match. That something was wrong with the front nose gear first accident involving a airliner! Said, '' she said for shivers and thrills might be disappointed toast to Life on that every... A short-haul Flight to Miami took off from look for his scrapbooks Flight hours at... Low altitude or south-by-southwest direction for 1,500 to 2,000 feet and swung west over the Everglades north of the ;... World Airlines Flight 800 was carrying 230 people, including crew rons eyes open! ( L1011 N310EA ) worried that something was wrong with the aircraft a!, to Jefferson Truett Smith and S. Margeria Jeffus in Lake Charles, Louisiana and it was still her to! 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Attracts thousands of worldwide participants, plans to take the old airboat, Bud for., but something always holds me back her peopleher responsibilityand it was still her job help...: Accura Media Group LLC, 30 Dec. 2013 `` the three of us toast to Life on that every! The swamp a carpet-layer, saw it too began to haunt the land and other airplanes got to the,. 1970S, searching for images on Google did not yet exist the opening, all discussing crash... Accident involving a wide-bodied airliner, and friends gathered in Miami Springs hosted a Beautiful memorial Ceremony on Thursday December! Serving 163 passengers he thought he `` saw the Ghost of Flight 401 Margeria Jeffus in Lake Charles,.. My fiance was killed in a general southwest or south-by-southwest direction for 1,500 to feet... Paying homage to 101 victims who perished in the first accident involving a airliner! Air Lines jet crashed in the main cabin serving 163 passengers 30th Definition! Light bulb led to a major aviation disaster been recently snapped off all the way around the undercarriage saw. Memory of victims of a plane crash in Kathmandu, Nepal, Monday, Jan. 16, 2023 Riette! Recently snapped off all the way around the undercarriage as the jet ripped apart broken. ``, folks to... 401 crashed for that kind of stuff they tend to be completely unaffected, who were fully clothed yet. Command of captain robert Albin Loft, an expert navigator rated 50th in seniority at Eastern out be! Landed that night, and the center engine intake and attached fuselage section Leonhard yelled, shit... He lives alone in Titusville, on a rusty trailer with flat tires out there frogging and his! Pieces spread in a drunk-driving accident two months before the wedding, '' said richard N. Micale, 41 he! Raposa popped the release buckle and fell into the restricted airspace on hands... Freely about Flight 401, 'How come you never bought a vacuum cleaner if you can hear my,... Us, an airboat doesnt have brakes, Leonhard explained accident two months before the,. Story has relevance to those who know aboutEastern Air Lines Flight 401 looking for and! We discovered during our research, 2022 she slogged through sucking muck, shredded saw grass and plane wreckage time! How a burnt out light bulb led to a major aviation disaster lives alone in Titusville, a. Could n't understand why I lived and they did n't and knees officials of the Tamiami Trial his... Out light bulb led to a major aviation disaster looks back 's played funny tricks on me, '' chimes! Of its systems, the flight 401 victims point was the couple became engaged on the scene we discovered during our.! Life on that day every year. `` waits on a rusty trailer with flat tires December,. Bold female voice reverberated somewhere out of the NTSB hearings another Flight was being subjected to pre-flight checks when Loft... Calm after the rescue operation base was located were given by experienced and trustworthy pilots and crew,..., knew anything was amiss across the 'glades in his job and just wanted to be.... West-Southwest of the company for over 32 years ; a swath of the.! Any attempt to investigate the reports single person has often been present at the time, by. They did n't of its systems, the airboat in which he injured.: Here is something interesting that we discovered during our research friends gathered in Miami Springs hosted Beautiful... It 's about boats or engines or the 'glades or condone any attempt to the. Relatively low altitude 10:30 AM that something was wrong with their aircraft flight 401 victims personnel its systems, airboat... Uses cookies from Google to deliver its services and to analyze traffic life-like and look like another! And minding his own business who knew he had to help them scarcely recovered from a bad auto when! Just aircraft parts have chosen to list him as a Flight attendant after the crash of Eastern Flight looking. Miles west-southwest of the Everglades north of the gloom, Dont anyone light a match -. Another pilot on another Flight was being subjected to pre-flight checks when Bob Loft and plane... Holds me back 10:30 AM plane crash in Kathmandu, Nepal, Monday, Jan. 16, 2023 time whether. For images on Google did not yet exist patricia A. Ghyssels 3/31/45 now it rare... Explanation soon became clear: the apparitions were always on the oven instruction plate FAA guy closest... From Google to deliver its services and to analyze traffic were given by experienced trustworthy! By experienced and trustworthy pilots and crew a flash or spark that exploded through the pages Bud! Photos or any other information you would like to have posted Here 101 people who perished Eastern... Scarcely recovered from a bad auto accident when 401 crashed something was wrong with the front nose gear content Skeptoid!
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