He saw tangled metal and smelled aviation fuel. Jana Dedek 6/24/53 From a half mile above, it's like an artist's canvas. Jorge Gonzalez 1/16/38 Other than those observations, I don't recall much more from that flight. 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. The experienced flight crew was distracted when the landing gear light failed to come on, which they believed was caused by a blown bulb. Welcome to sunny Miami," the pilot announced cheerfully as Eastern Flight 401 passed over the city. Ron and Fara Infantino, married for 20 days, were coming home from their honeymoon when Flight 401 crashed. He was born in Pittsburgh, PA and was a 26 year resident of Christmas, FL. Loretta E. Bloodgood 10/13/15 "I thought I would fall apart," she told a newspaper in 1975. Unborn son of Rochelle and Stefan Rubin She worked in the executive offices at Easterns Miami base. He'd see the lights and hear the roar as the jets climbed into the black night over the swamp or descended toward Miami International Airport. Im sure they all ran away. She spit the words out quickly, doing her best to sound convincing. [5]:6[a], The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation discovered that the autopilot had been inadvertently switched from altitude hold to control wheel steering (CWS) mode in pitch. Picture that in your mind. Investigators believe the autopilot switched modes when the captain accidentally leaned against the yoke while turning to speak to the flight engineer, who was sitting behind and to the right of him. Dummett hopes that the event will inspire a permanent memorial to Eastern Flight 401, similar to the ValuJet Memorial off the Tamiami Trail in the Everglades. Christina (center) was two-months-old at the time of the crash, making her the youngest survivor . He is survived by his beloved wife of 53 years, Donna; son, John (Jan) Angelo; daughters, Susan (Bob) Norberg, Patricia (Rick) Shepherd; and nine grandchildren. N310EA, the aircraft involved in the accident. The pilot noted, tongue very much in cheek, that he thought he "saw the ghost of Don Repo." We've been married going on 18 years now." Lucille Cilles 1/30/24 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. He was out that night on his airboat, gigging frogs with a new friend, Ray Dickens. Two others did not want to be reminded. The flying safety was even more compromised because it was slightly hazy which reduced visibility to seven to ten miles over the Everglades. Bound for Miami, Flight 401 took off from New York's JFK at 9:20 p.m. There were four men in the cockpit, all preoccupied with the light and landing gear. Jerry stopped seeing the girl in Miami he had been dating, married a different woman a year later and quit his job at Gimbel's. High in the distant black sky, beyond the harsh glare cast by his headlamp, was a circling star: the searchlight of a Coast Guard helicopter hovering over the crash site eight miles away. Donadeo, an Eastern Airlines technical specialist on L-1011 aircraft, was returning to Miami that night from a trouble- shooting assignment in New York. Hey, whats happening here? the captain shouted. If one more time he could harvest a mess of frog legs in the Everglades. 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. I saw a husband who couldn't find his wife or his children." This was the first fatal crash of a wide-body aircraft. The state of decomposition of these bodies was very advanced, to the point where they were practically skeletons. Photos: AL DIAZ | MIAMI HERALD. In my mind, that makes him a real hero.". The crew of Flight 401 taken aboard the jet earlier on the day of the crash: the flight attendants had gathered at the tail of the plane. He saw mangled bodies and heard the pitiful moans of the dying. Suddenly, he stopped. Then, on Saturday, December 29, a fleet of over 100 airboats carried survivors, their families and others to the crash site for a special memorial. 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. I don't recall any large scorched patches of saw grass, but I remember a few small burned areas. [14], During the following months and years, stories began circulating that employees of Eastern Air Lines, and numerous passengers, had reported sightings of the dead crew members, captain Robert Loft and second officer (flight engineer) Donald Repo, sitting aboard other L-1011s (including, in particular, N318EA). Walker's body is still fairly intact. It looked like someone had poured gasoline on a campfire, and poof, up it went. Curiously, Leonhard never heard the impact. 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! I was a kid, 21 years old. I probably did too, I'm sure." The landing gear from Flight 401 at the crash site; Photography courtesy Ron Infantino. Frank Borman, a former NASA astronaut and Eastern's senior vice president of operations, was awoken at home by a telephone call explaining of a probable crash. Email subscription; Email subscription; . He was more than 25 miles away. It became his navigation beacon. Her face burned from the jet fuel. In the hospital, a nine-inch steel rod was inserted into the bone. About 490 feet (150m) from the wingtip's initial contact with the ground, the massive fuselage had begun to break up, scattering components from the underfloor galley, the cargo compartments, and the cabin interior. In the narrow beam of his head lamp he now saw enormous strips of torn metal. The Ghost of Flight 401 was based on the tragic Eastern Air Lines airplane crash in December 1972, and the alleged supernatural events which followed; it was eventually turned into a popular 1978 made-for-television movie. Instead, it took 35 years. The Ghost of Flight 401. You can see the brand name on the oven instruction plate. He was in the fetal position, head on his knees, hands covering his face, leaning against the trunk of a willow. Stewardess Beverly Raposa, then 25, noticed nothing unusual as the flight passed high over the Atlantic Ocean en route to Miami International Airport. At approximately 2340R 29 December 1972, Eastern Airlines Flight 401, a Lockheed 1011, with 178 persons on board, crashed in the Everglades 18 miles west of Miami International Airport. No complete cross-section of the passenger cabin remained, and both the port wing and tailplane were demolished to fragments. Theyll find us eventually., Raposa had the survivors scoot together, sitting back to back so they could stay warm. Trudy Smith didn't return to flying. The flight had 163 passengers and 13 crew members. [6]:101 The pilots cycled the landing gear, but still failed to get the confirmation light. He'd get that look. "The temperature is in the low 70s, and it's beautiful out there tonight." Sir, dont worry, he said. Ghosts of Flight 401 - 1 | Salvatore Carfizzi 7/15/15 [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. John G. Fuller, the best-selling author of The Ghost of Flight 401, carried out an investigation into the hauntings with the aid of several cautious airline personnel. Support the development and execution of ground and flight test operations; Qualifications: B.S. (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 . Beverly Raposa switched seats from her regular position in the galley for a flight from New York to Miami. 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. In 1985, his years as a manual laborer caught up with him. I saw young couples broken up. Marquis received burns to his face, arms, and legsa result of spilled jet fuel from the crashed TriStarbut continued shuttling people in and out of the crash site that night and the next day. Back to the clubhouse and armed with the airspace restrictions, I was ready to fly. The aircraft was completely demolished, with wreckage, bodies, and survivors strewn over a wide area. Fuller recounts stories of paranormal events aboard other Eastern aircraft and the belief that these were caused by equipment salvaged from the wreckage of Flight 401. The captain guessed, correctly, that the wheel was all right and the light bad, but he called off the landing and flew away from airport traffic to make sure -- a responsible decision, after which everything else went wrong. After we visually established where the crash site was located, we could see the initial ground contact point and the distribution of the wreckage quite clearly. Paquita Carrasquillo 10/4/40 Eastern Airlines Flight 401 was on its way from New York to Miami on December 29th, 1972, with 13 crew and 163 passengers onboard. For his efforts, he received the Humanitarian Award from the National Air Disaster Alliance/Foundation and the "Alumitech Airboat Hero Award", from the American Airboat Search and Rescue Association. Raposa sensed a different tone in the engines. Once the crisis was over, respiratory therapist Susan Mefford was assigned to Infantino. "Hey, what's happening here?" That was the last transmission before the left wing sliced into the Everglades at 225 mph. Born in Arkansas, he grew up in South Florida when everybody seemed to be poor. Of five survivors The Herald located this week, three talked freely about Flight 401. She worked only briefly as a flight attendant after the crash. The last thing Raposa remembered seeing before she was knocked out was a waterfall of colors. Two later died, leaving 75 survivors and 101 fatalities. In unison, we looked up to see the silhouette of a Lockheed L1011 flying westbound at an altitude of about 2,000 feet. ----------------------------------------------. I should add that Dorothy R. Loft and her two children, Kimberly and Robert, Jr sued Fuller for invasion of privacy over the book . Flight 401 Survivors, Years After the Crash and Memorial Efforts. Follow my voice!. Donald Stanley Casadona 7/16/38 Several survivors tracked him down to thank him personally. On the crews instrument panel, one of the three green lights confirming the planes landing gear is down and locked . 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." Three women on the jetliner's tail, about 20 feet above the water, begged Bud to save them. At 11:32 p.m., Capt. 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