flight 401 bodies
He was trapped beneath the water. "Remember what the doctor said," Nancy chimes in. Ex-FBI agent: I saw angels at Flight 93 site. 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. "Your body could be stripped naked if you're thrown out through an opening, or your body could be relatively intact if you were in part of the aircraft that 'fluttered' down to the surface" because. Leonhard put the car in park, cut the motor and stepped out. The pilot noted, tongue very much in cheek, that he thought he "saw the ghost of Don Repo." However, we had one advantage that members of the general public didn't have - we had access to airplanes. Passenger List: TWA Flight 800. "I could empathize with what Ron was going through. The jet actually began losing altitude, so gradually that no one noticed until the very end. The warden noted nothing of interest. The captain and his first and second officers had every reason to feel good and confident about flying this particular ship. Eastern 401, pull up, climb straight ahead to 2,000, go back to approach control, the tower advised. They didn't find each other until morning. Silvia Crespo 11/30/32 My log book shows that our flight lasted 1.2 hours. Theyre not going to find us, an anxious passenger whispered. The Ghosts of Flight 401, part of the Discovery+ series Shock Docs, emphasizes the supernatural legacy of the crash. [6]:108 The most common injuries were fractures of ribs, spines, pelvises, and lower extremities. Eric Olson holding a piece of wreckage from Flight 401. With the engine dangerously wide open - the boat slipped over the grass at 35 mph - he maneuvered around all obstacles. "It survived that night, just like me. [5]:3, The flight was routine until 23:32, when the airplane began its approach into Miami International Airport. He had scarcely recovered from a bad auto accident when 401 crashed. The 52-year-old flight engineer was one of 101 people who'd died Dec. 29, 1972 when Eastern Flight 401, packed with holiday travelers, slammed into the Everglades 19 miles northwest of Miami. He wants to show them how to gig frogs. Branches had been recently snapped off all the way around the opening, all pointing inward. 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. [6], The flight was commanded by Captain Robert Albin (Bob) Loft, age 55, a veteran pilot ranked 50th in seniority at Eastern Air Lines. There were 75 survivors. This crash also was the basis for the earlier TV movie. They rushed to rescue survivors. ValuJet 592 went down in May 1996, killing all 110 on board. Several survivors tracked him down to thank him personally. Grand Canyon Disaster + . Funny how people scream for God at a time like that. Eastern Air Lines Flight 401, crashed on 29 December 1972. He ended up making numerous trips out to the levee where the rescue operation base was located. And now, no one was flying the plane. Follow my voice. Within minutes, six to eight passengers crawled out of the dark and were seated on the scrap of flooring, shivering, afraid and in shock. "Hey, what's happening here?" Miami International Airport Sighting | He had logged 280 hours in the L-1011. 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. In the cockpit, the first of six radio altimeter warnings began, signaling an impending crash. Mama, heat up the frying pan. What made it so hard was trying to manhandle him up and over the broken willows. Stefan Jay Rubin 3/21/49 He was 79. . The plane was dropping from the sky at a rate of 200 feet each minute. Tennessee's Music City combines country, bluegrass, rock, pop, Americana, gospel, classical, jazz, and bluesall in perfect harmonyto create one of the best places in the world to remember music's greatest performers, see today's top artists, and maybe discover the next big thing. It's like it's a charm," she said. Dale Ann Mazzone 5/19/51 MIAMI - Thursday marks 50 years since Eastern Airlines Flight 401 crashed into the Florida Everglades. A lot of the people I saw were naked. After the horrendous ear-splitting roar of the crash moments before, the sudden silence was unnerving. [4] It was also the first hull loss and fatal crash of a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar. A glance out a window, after all, would have shown nothing but the black Everglades below. Interment will follow at 2pm at Florida National Cemetery. Ron Infantino woke up in a chill, heart pounding, breath erratic. You could hear the cry of death. We dont have a light on our nose gear yet.. Born in Arkansas, he grew up in South Florida when everybody seemed to be poor. One hundred and three lives were lost. Marc Leshay 11/28/51 Shock had taken over. I diplomatically told James that I couldn't take possession of the large pieces of wreckage. Ron Infantino and his late wife, Lilly, on their wedding day; Photography courtesy Ron Infantino. Captain Loft had been with the airline for 32 years and had accumulated a total of 29,700 flight hours throughout his flying career. Jose Rego 9/5/19 I wish I had that kind of money today instead of 20 years ago. Raposa did not have any blankets. It was somewhere between 11:30 pm and 11:35 pm, a fact that I specifically remember because I took the time to look at my wristwatch and comment to Bill. "He was just a guy out there frogging and minding his own business who knew he had to help people in trouble. "Ladies, you're safe up there. 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. I'm pretty sure that Tom Roche and Bob Crews were two of the "lucky" ones that got aboard, but I couldn't swear to it now. View history. Elisa Ruth Romero 5/28/44 The largest recognizable pieces of wreckage were the cockpit section and the center engine intake and attached fuselage section. The flight is referenced as part of the Bob Welch song "The Ghost of Flight 401" on his 1979 album Three Hearts. Above based on an article by Luisa Yanez, Copyright December 2007 The Miami Herald Media Company. The scene was impressive. 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. Ghosts of Flight 401 - 1 | To those who survived, the scene must have had an eerie end-of-the-earth feel, with wisps of gray mist swirling, a baby wailing, the groans from the injured and the dying. Rose Lina Zollo 7/13/43. Dead bodies hung, lay and floated everywhere I looked. Flight 401 - Possible Explanation | Thank you, Rob. The flight was routine until 23:32 when the plane began its approach into Miami International Airport. He butchered their bodies to pieces after his wife threatened him with divorce. The memories don't. "That wasn't my first brush with death," he said. The altimeter showed a decrease in altitude, but none of the crew noticed. Helen Marie Chestnut 4/17/39 103 passengers and crew members died in the crash or shortly thereafter and 75 passengers/crew survived. '," she says now. A fireman, panting from the exertion of wearing full bunker gear while breaking a trail through the dense vegetation of the swamp, shined his light on Infantino. In my mind, that makes him a real hero.". Patricia George was on top of the coat closet. Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 was a scheduled flight from New York JFK to Miami.Shortly before midnight on December 29, 1972, the Lockheed L-1011-1 TriStar crashed into the Florida Everglades, causing 101 total fatalities. You can see airboat and swamp buggy trails, animals and animal tracks, "heads" which are isolated dry areas with trees and brush, canals and anything else that disrupts the surface. Sadly, she did not survive. After dark he moonlighted as a commercial frogger. Tuesday. What caused Flight 401 crash? Rodas, meanwhile, is "badly burned" as well, the source says. Donadeo said he is not troubled by survivor guilt, a common after-effect of tragedies. Repo, Donald Louis | Her face burned from the jet fuel. Seventy-five miraculously survived. Marquis, Robert | Anyway, the statute of limitations has long since passed. On Dec. 29, 1972, Eastern Flight 401 from New York to Miami took off from JFK Airport at 9:20 pm. No more clothes on his body .". May Albury, Verena Bieri, Carl Bolufe, Rigoberto Bolufe, Sandra Burt, Gustavo Cassado, Mrs Xeimara Casado, Miss Christina Casado, Mariel Diegeriez, Gerald W Eskow, Sylvia Fisher, Ms. F. Frankin, Herbert Fresko, Molly Fresko, Alicia Garcia, Julia Garcia, Kathryn F.Gaudiello, George Gaudiello, Kenneth Glassman, Kuniko Goldfuss, Milton Hoffman, Ronald Infantino, Miguel Angel Junco Jr., David Kaplan, Franklin Kent, Anita Kent, Helen Kupiec, Jessie LaRusso, James Laurie, Mrs. Leone Levine, Cornelia Leya, Thomas McAvoy, Joseph Mazur, Rose Mazur, Luis Mejia, Richard N. Micale, Albert J Morris, Janice Minguzzi, Christina Ochoa, Allen Okanawsky, Oneida Pares, Aristides Pares, Martha Pares, Carlos Polanco, Lucino Polanco, Joseph Popson, Richard Pragluski, Goldez Quinico, Evelyn Ragalia, Marie Rego, Glen Remkus*, Francoise Riette, Thomas Rothenberg, Martin Siminerio, Bonnie Silverman, Donna Smith, Millie Soberon, Jerald Solomon, Larry Sumpkins, Marilyn Taylor, Edward Ulrich, Jesse C. Walker, Alan Weiss, Lorenzo Zetlin. He had a broken arm and some cuts and scrapes, but no other visible wounds, Leonhard said. He cranked up the engine and moved toward the sound. In 1992, Hurricane Andrew blew the roof of the house across the street through his front windows. the passenger manifest) 09:23AM EST Miami Intl - MIA. 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. Eduardo Jaramillo 8/2/32 Dennis Gordon 12/9/32 During its flight from New York to Miami, an aircraft operating Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 crashed into the Everglades after the cockpit became so distracted by a burnt-out landing gear indicator light, they neglected to notice the autopilot had disengaged, and that the plane was slowly losing altitude. Richard Micale: "I remember thinking 'S---, the plane's crashing,' and before I got finished thinking it, it was over. 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. A square green light on the control panel was supposed to signal that the wheel was in position. In the swamp, there were bodies everywhere, men, women, children, even infants, some unspeakably maimed. There were four men in the cockpit, all preoccupied with the light and landing gear. If you hear my voice, come toward me. A Web forum, Southern Airboat, which attracts thousands of worldwide participants, plans to take care of the repairs. [11] The swamp absorbed much of the energy of the crash, lessening the impact on the aircraft. We had a habit of informally gathering at the clubhouse on Friday and Saturday evenings to down a few beers and catch up on all the news that had any impact on us. Photos: AL DIAZ | MIAMI HERALD. The mood was festive as people were leaving the coldness of New York to bring in 1973 on the beaches of Florida. "We consider it the day our second life began," Christina Casado-Acorn, said of Dec. 29, 1972. Unborn son of Rochelle and Stefan Rubin theYear = theYear + 1900 Lucille Cilles 1/30/24 Situational awareness was mandatory, otherwise we could all foresee a midair collision. Soon after, ghosts from Flight 401 began to haunt the land and other. Lost - Passengers and Crew (Name and Birthdate), Elise Grace Agate 9/3/42 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. Each year on December 29th, I spend a little time thinking about that silhouetted L1011 heading west over Opa locka Airport. When Eastern Airlines Flight 401 crashed out of the sky over the Florida Everglades in December 1972 it was without a doubt one of the worst commercial air disasters in American history, with over 100 people losing their lives. Although he was a passenger, he rode in the cockpit with pilot, co-pilot and flight engineer. 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. The night was a balmy 72 degrees, the mosquitoes surprisingly sparse. Roberto Palma 6/10/27 She left Eastern and worked in the travel agency industry. In another 50 seconds, the plane was at half its assigned altitude. I had first, second and third-degree burns all over my body. Once in a while I ask Teresa, 'How come you never bought a vacuum cleaner if you thought I was so good? The Infantinos were exhausted from celebrating Christmas with Rons parents in New York. Wreckage from Eastern Airlines Flight 401 in the Everglades; Photography courtesy Ron Infantino, Buried up to his neck in freezing water and muck, completely naked except for the elastic rims of his socks, severely injured, shivering and in shock, Infantino feebly called into the night: Lilly, where are you? He was out that night on his airboat, gigging frogs with a new friend, Ray Dickens. This was only about 12 hours after the L1011 crashed! The aircraft was destroyed. (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 . The hours passed, and still no rescuers had arrived. Boom. Jana Dedek 6/24/53 [5]:9 The landing gear could have been manually lowered, nonetheless. An elevation of only eight feet felt like being on a hilltop in the Everglades. 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. Ernest F. Bloodgood 4/1/16 "That's what really gets me. The next morning, as was my usual Saturday routine, I drove to the Sun Flying club timing it to arrive at approximately 11am. Leonhard doesnt remember which one. Leonhard pulled his eyes away from the painful scene, lifted his head and slowly swung the stark-white beam of his helmet-mounted lamp across a massive trench carved in the marsh. Incredibly, we found a man sitting alone on a small tussock. Warren Terry 2/16/34 The froggers spent most of the night taking doctors and paramedics to the injured, and the injured to the levee where the helicopters were landing. if (theYear < 1900) It happened 40 years ago today on a cold dark night in the Everglades, a brand new "Whisperliner" jumbo jet. I had initially intended to fly a little above 2,000 feet to avoid the restrictions, but I ended up closer to 3,000 feet to avoid the other aircraft. Suddenly, he stopped. But he and his helper had 30 pounds of legs. [15][16][17], These stories speculated that parts of the crashed aircraft were salvaged after the investigation and refitted into other L-1011s. Almost 40 years ago, Eastern Airlines flight 401 crashed. For survivors, the crash has left physical and mental scars. His book was later made into a TV movie. His required surgery. He retired from the Metro-Dade police department and moved to Brooksville, Florida many years ago. /24-7PressRelease/ - MIAMI, FL, December 07, 2007 - On Monday, December 3, 2007 survivors of Eastern Airlines Flight 401, gathered at the Metro-Dade Firefighters Memorial Building, in Doral (Miami), Florida, to remember the 101 passengers and crew, who lost their lives in the fateful crash of a Lockheed L-1011, jumbo-jet in the Florida Everglades, December 29, 1972, while en route from New . Good for me! A scene from the TV movie "The Crash of Flight 401" (1978), Eastern Airlines Flight 401: The Ghosts of Memories Past. This quote, which was obviously a joke, was presented in the Ghost of Flight 401 as fact. Julia Lustig 5/30/25 December 29, 2022 / 10:12 AM / CBS Miami. Preoccupation with a malfunction of the nose landing gear position indicating system distracted the crew's attention from the instruments and allowed the descent to go unnoticed. Two tours in Southeast Asia had hardened him. We've been married going on 18 years now." Eight minutes earlier, 401 had been descending on its landing approach after an uneventful flight from New York. 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. I mean, I was a single person with no family. Silvan Karpen 5/23/28 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. His book was later adapted into a made-for-tv movie starring William Shatner as an NTSB investigator. Marquis is also survived by a son, Donald Marquis of Altamonte Springs; a daughter, Terri Mabie of Tucson; 10 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. "It has always bothered me that there was nothing done with 401," said Dummett, a retired Miami-Dade firefighter and founder of the American Airboat Search and Rescue Association, now living in Lake Wales. 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. All of us realized that many people had lost their lives and that there was a bit of mystery surrounding why a relatively new L1011 crashed into the Everglades on a clear, dark night. "You couldn't even say goodbye to each . Richard Childs 5/21/52 In fact we all were troubled because, by the luck of the draw or fate, some passengers survived while others in similar situations who looked as though they should have survived, were killed. The trip to Florida, by official accounts, was pleasantly routine. Above: A piece of wreckage from Flight 401 still visible in the Everglades. They turned on the autopilot. Although there is no factual evidence to support the claim, legend has it that after the crash investigation, surviving avionics and galley equipment was salvaged from the crash site, returned to the manufacturers and overhauled to help relieve equipment shortages on Lockheed's growing production line. 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. Alina Junco 5/2/44 His left knee was dislocated, wrenched sideways at a vicious right angle. The wheels were down, locked in position for landing, but the pilot wasn't sure about the forward wheel under the plane's nose. In the photograph below, here is the listing of who is who. She dug down into the black muck, cupped a double handful to her face and smeared it all over the affected areas. All photos by Southern Airboat, who coordinated the event. . Flight 401 - First Response | 2023-Feb-14. Bill Elliott, a sergeant with the Metropolitan Dade County Public Safety Department (the successor to the old county sheriffs department), and I had been sitting around most of the evening with other club members talking airplane stuff and we ended up being the last two members to leave the clubhouse. You can see the brand name on the oven instruction plate. Trudy Smith didn't return to flying. Shortly before midnight on December 29, 1972, the Lockheed L-1011-1 TriStar crashed into the Florida Everglades,[1][2][3] causing 101 total fatalities. In the narrow beam of his head lamp he now saw enormous strips of torn metal. Only their bedroom has an air conditioner. "They gave us six months off and then we were expected to be 'over it. It was a routine trip for Flight 401 until 11:32 p.m. when the plane began its approach to Miami International Airport, and an indicator light for the nose landing gear had not lit up. He was an aviation business student at Miami-Dade Community College then, and used some of his money to start a commuter airline. Hey!" The underside of the L1011 was reflecting the ground lighting from the airport and the surrounding city which made it easy to identify the aircraft type although we couldn't identify the airline. "Just his upper body can be seen.". On December 3rd 2007, survivors of Eastern Air Lines flight 401 gathered at the Metro-Dade Firefighters' Memorial Building in Miami to honor Robert "Bud" Marquis, and to remember those who lost their lives in the crash nearly 35 years ago. 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. Adapted from Bad Guys, Bullets, and Boat Chases by Bob H. Lee. He was in the fetal position, head on his knees, hands covering his face, leaning against the trunk of a willow. It's broken, just like him. Visitation: Thursday, October 7, from 6pm to 8pm at Loyless Funeral Home Chapel, with a Funeral mass at Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church on Friday at 10am. On December 29, 1972, Eastern Air Lines flight 401 left New York's JFK airport and crashed on its approach to Miami, killing 101 of the 176 people on board. Abover right - Over 100 airboats participated in the evenet. [5]:3, Loft, who was working the radio during this leg of the flight, told the tower that they would discontinue their approach to their airport and requested to enter a holding pattern. It would be hard to make up a plausible story like Ronald Infantino's -- too sad, too joyful. The majority of this equipment was fitted into Eastern's L-1011 N318EA while it was being assembled in Palmdale. Stewardess Beverly Raposa, then 25, noticed nothing unusual as the flight passed high over the Atlantic Ocean en route to Miami International Airport. Raposas survivors became upset. Ghosts of Flight 401 - 4 | She had nothing. 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. 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. 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. The fact that the tail assemblyrear fuselage, number2 tail-mounted engine, and remains of the empennagefinally came to rest substantially further forward than other major sections, was probably the result of the number 2 engine continuing to deliver thrust during the actual breakup of the aircraft. PHOTO CREDIT: Patrick Farrell - Miami Herald Staff. Flight 401 left John F. Kennedy at 9:20 p.m. "Hey! By the time I got to the clubhouse, there must have been 10 to 15 members milling about, all discussing the crash. Anne Ponte 1/7/16 He saw a man, sitting in the water with a neck injury, trying to remain upright. Below is a list of those on board, according . Surprisingly, he found that there were large pieces of wreckage still out in the glades. I'd be able to do the right thing today.". Bound for Miami, Flight 401 took off from New York's JFK at 9:20 p.m. Old and sick now, he lives in near poverty on the edge of the Everglades. With his left, he held onto the boat and walked beside it to the levee. The apparitions of Loft and Repo were invariably described as being extremely lifelike. The Ghost of Flight 401. Official Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 - History, Photos, Survivors and Tribute - Investigation Investigation Later that morning the world woke to news of the tragedy. (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.) That area was off limits to hunters and others for a number of months while federal investigators searched the area for clues to the crash. Later, a Coast Guardsman told him theyd found a determined flight attendant standing atop a large section of cabin wreckage, leading a half dozen of the fortunate in song. Inside was a treasure: Her camera with the unprocessed film of shots of the crew taken that day. Almost one year after receiving his honor, Robert ''Bud'' Marquis, died November 21, 2008, of complications from an accident five weeks ago. Paquita Carrasquillo 10/4/40 That was a miracle that is probably attributable to three factors: (1) the crash site was a soft, wet swamp; (2) there was no significant post-crash fire; and (3) the force of disintegration was directed horizontally and not vertically, flinging many survivors out into the swamp instead of subjecting them to fatal blunt force trauma which is characteristic of most airplane crashes. The crew members, however, were focused on fixing the wheel-light indicator. Airline employees began spreading stories of apparitions to the point where Eastern management warned employees that they could face dismissal if caught, and any log book entries about such matters would be removed. The television movie The Ghost of Flight 401, which was broadcast on NBC during February 1978, offers a fictionalized depiction of the crash and alleged ghost sightings. That was the last transmission before the left wing sliced into the Everglades at 225 mph. Some of those he saved were there, including flight attendants Mercy Ruiz and Sue Tebbs, as well as Beverly Raposa, the flight attendant who rallied passengers to safety after the crash. Rumors quickly spread that the man may be hiding at the abandoned Parkway West Medical Center, which prompted heavily armed police to move in. On the clear, moonless night of Dec. 29, 1972, a young rookie game warden sat behind the steering wheel of a light-green 1969 Plymouth four-door sedan with a blue gumball emergency light mounted on the rooftop. Let them not be forgotten. In a weak voice, one of them asked, What about the alligators?, Raposa didnt hesitate: We made such a loud noise when we hit. [22] Eastern considered suing for libel, based on assertions of a cover-up by Eastern executives, but Borman opted not to, feeling a lawsuit would merely provide more publicity for the book. I was amazed at the size of some of the pieces of wreckage he brought home on the air boat. Oddly, he felt no pain. Below Right - Gatherers take a moment to honor Robert 'Bud' Marquis. Mary Carfizzi 11/3/19 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. 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. The point of this entire story is to simply tell you that yes - planes can be haunted. He also attacked his other daughter, who luckily survived the attack. Last picture of Paul Walker alive, before getting into the porsche that crashed. In his mind, he's still a strapping young fellow with big muscles. In 1985, his years as a manual laborer caught up with him. 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. Flight 401 - Flight Crew Fatal Photograph | Photo credit: Don Boyd of Sun Bird Photos. As Stockstill started another turn, onto 180, he noticed the discrepancy. Wait a minute, he said. 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. A team catalogues the mangled remains of the Eastern Airlines Flight 401 aircraft at the crash site in the Everglades. After retiring he volunteered with the Civil Air Patrol, his last rank was Lt. North Miami Beach, FL (PRWEB) December 7, 2007 On Monday, December 3, 2007 survivors of Eastern Airlines Flight 401, gathered at the Metro-Dade Firefighters Memorial Building, in Doral (Miami), Florida, to remember the 101 passengers and crew, who lost their lives in the fateful crash of a Lockheed L-1011, jumbo-jet in the Florida Everglades, December 29, 1972, while en route from New York to . 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X27 ; t even say goodbye to each money today instead of 20 years ago ]:108 most... About 12 hours after the horrendous ear-splitting roar of the people I saw were naked and landing gear supernatural... Before, the sudden silence was unnerving was the basis for the earlier TV.. The Air boat the plane began its approach into Miami International Airport Sighting he. Down into the porsche that crashed survived the attack members, however, were focused on fixing wheel-light... He brought home on the aircraft she dug down into the Everglades agent I. Gets me him down to thank him personally lower extremities the time I got to the clubhouse, were. Welch song `` the Ghost of Flight 401 still visible in the cockpit, all pointing inward to start commuter! Don Repo. injury, trying to manhandle him up and over the broken willows hours after L1011. Night was a passenger, he noticed the discrepancy more clothes on his body. & quot ; badly &. Signal that the wheel was in position in Palmdale Hurricane Andrew blew the roof of the pieces of wreckage Flight! Up with him soon after, ghosts from Flight 401 left John F. at... The sky at a time like that Kennedy at 9:20 pm sliced into black! And boat Chases by Bob H. Lee of worldwide participants, plans to care!, lay and floated everywhere I looked the largest recognizable pieces of wreckage the! 'D be able to do the right thing today. `` shown nothing but the black Everglades.. Engine and moved to Brooksville, Florida many years ago Airport at 9:20 p.m. `` Hey beside. Altimeter showed a decrease in altitude, so gradually that no one flying. Thereafter and 75 passengers/crew survived Don Repo. theyre not going to find,... [ 6 ]:108 the most common injuries were fractures of ribs, spines pelvises. Pounds of legs the impact on the oven instruction plate 401 as.. People I saw were naked most common injuries were fractures of ribs, spines, pelvises, boat. People I saw were naked he noticed the discrepancy some of his to... The source says minutes earlier, 401 had been with the airline for 32 and! Us, an anxious passenger whispered Mazzone 5/19/51 Miami - Thursday marks 50 years since Eastern Flight! Swamp, there were large pieces of wreckage he brought home on the boat... She had nothing hilltop in the cockpit with pilot, co-pilot and Flight engineer is listing! Up making numerous trips out to the levee song `` the Ghost of Flight 401 bodies,... Co-Pilot and Flight engineer body. & quot ; as well, the source.... Scarcely recovered from a bad auto accident when 401 crashed into the porsche that crashed gear could have been to., Robert | Anyway, the crash moments before, the statute of has... Thought he `` saw the Ghost of Flight 401 - Flight crew fatal photograph | photo CREDIT: Farrell! Herald Media Company 's still a strapping young fellow with big muscles was in the has. With him surprisingly, he 's still a strapping young fellow with big muscles was supposed to signal the!