Eastern 401, pull up, climb straight ahead to 2,000, go back to approach control, the tower advised. This crux of the story was completely made up out of whole cloth. the passenger manifest) It was closing in on midnight on Dec. 29, 1972. ATC put the plane into a holding pattern over the Everglades. The NTSB also reported that 67passengers survived the carnage and 94 perished, as did two of the cabin crew. Ghosts of Flight 401 - 7 | 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. Whatever the case, whether from real testimony or a desire to entertain, the legend of the ghosts of Flight 401 helped to make sure the victims and survivors are not forgotten. According to the National Transportation Safety Board ( NTSB ), the main fuselage broke into four main sections and many other smaller pieces on impact. It is now known that "Mrs. McAvoy" was Donna Smith, Thomas McAvoy's traveling companion. Leonhard doesnt remember which one. At 11:42 p.m., the first officer said, We did something to the altitude.. Michael Ann Kaminer 12/28/45 Eastern's L-1011's came equipped with six Bowmar ovens (Lockheed Part Number 671878-115). This is a story about how a burnt out light bulb led to a major aviation disaster. In fact, do a Google image search for "flight 401 wreckage" and you'll see at a glance that the aircraft was completely destroyed. Sir, dont worry, he said. But we idled back around to double-check on them just in case.. Picture that in your mind. In the narrow beam of his head lamp he now saw enormous strips of torn metal. The movie is fairly innacurate and over-dramitized. "Accident Description." The Senior Architecture Analyst provides architecture . Edward moved to Scarborough, Maine to expand Winchesters presence in Northern New England and the Maritime provinces. Christina was the youngest survivor of the accident. A Florida plane crash scene became even more disturbing when an alligator was spotted devouring the victim's body. Raposa sensed a different tone in the engines. 2022 TV-14. The L-1011 was new, parts were scarce, and any non-structural components that passed scrutiny said Fuller went into Eastern's spare parts pool. It didn't light. Carmen Jorge 7/7/46 The image of Repo said "Watch out for fire on this airplane," and then disappeared. Repo seemed to have a knack of turning up in the oddest of places. 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. An Eastern representative told Serling that, while pondering whether to sue Fuller or his publisher: We spent weeks trying to locate anyone who claimed to have seen a ghost and couldn't find one person. A friend once warned him: "One day you'll work a plane crash out there." She was killed. It's broken, just like him. Then wham! About a year after the crash of Flight 401, she told me that one of the flight attendants who had survived the crash had come back to work at Eastern, but was assigned to the executive secretarial pool while she recovered from her physical injuries and tried to cope with her mental anguish. Flight 401s chain of problems began on the approach to Florida two hours after departure. Sign up! His book was later adapted into a made-for-tv movie starring William Shatner as an NTSB investigator. The tall building behind the plane is Building 16 at MIA, the former headquarters of Eastern Air Lines. Jose Carrasquillo 6/28/40 '", Age 79, died Saturday, October 2, 2004 in Land O'Lakes, FL. Pilot Bob Loft, copilot Bert Stockstill, and flight engineer Don Repo were bringing the plane in to land at Miami International Airport. The unintentional jar apparently caused the planes nose to tilt down a few degrees. My log book shows that our flight lasted 1.2 hours. Robert Albin Loft 3/17/17 Stefan Jay Rubin 3/21/49 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. A ferry crew was assigned to fly it back home empty for repairs. He hoped the circling delay would give them time to fix the problem. He ended up making numerous trips out to the levee where the rescue operation base was located. Though Leonhard was only a rookie, the sight of death was not unfamiliar to him. Santiago Flight 513: A Fictional Time Warp. What songs will we sing? one passenger asked. Eight minutes earlier, 401 had been descending on its landing approach after an uneventful flight from New York. Rob and Sarah Elder, 20 Aug. 2010. He has never taken pleasure in talking about what he saw after Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 went down and how he felt about it. Below Left - In red, stewardess Beverly Raposa at the memorial. 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. I had first, second and third-degree burns all over my body. New York: Atheneum, 1977. "I still love to fly; I get on planes and fall asleep like a baby," jokes Raposa. Bud waved the helicopter toward a nearby levee. The flight attendant, Mercy Ruiz, was badly injured, with a broken pelvis and a severe laceration on her forehead. Angelo was a friend to all who know him, generous with his time to anyone who needed him and a devoted husband and father. Aground. 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. Hey, whats happening here? the captain shouted. 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. Flight 401 - Flight Log | The Infantinos were exhausted from celebrating Christmas with Rons parents in New York. 1972 was drawing to a close when a routine flight from JFK, New York to Miami departed at 9:20 p.m. with 30-year veteran pilot Captain Bob Loft at the controls. 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. Frightened, they called the flight deck, and the flight engineer came down to have a look for himself. 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. It was the first of the new generation of wide-body "jumbo jets" to crash. Trudy Smith - Douglas November 6, 2021, 12:23 pm. Elder, R., Elder, S. Crash. Thirty minutes later, Leonhard and his passengers suddenly burst out of a thick patch of 12-foot-high sawgrass. He was out that night on his airboat, gigging frogs with a new friend, Ray Dickens. * Glenn C. Remkus, 47, was still hospitalized in Miami with burns and two broken legs as of February 1973, though a newspaper report on Dec 31st had reported him to be in "satisfactory" condition and in "good spirits." Bill Elliott had a much more eventful night. Have You Met Fred the Tree? The jet bounced once, then hit again. Today, she still has the small, Eastern Airlines-issued cream-colored suitcase she carried the night of the crash. She was very scared, having never been in the Everglades before. 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. The middle engine and tail section had broken away from the main fuselage, coming to a rest on their sides in a remote area far from the main crash site, which was located 18.7 miles northwest of Miami International Airport. On December of 1972, an Eastern Airlines Tri-Star jetliner, Flight 401, crashed into a Florida swamp. Charles Kuchenbrod 7/16/30 Also in attendance was Ron Infantino, David Kaplan and the Casado family. 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 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. Now 41, he lives alone in Titusville, on a disability pension. Web. His 1977 book, Crash, tells the story of many of the passengers, the investigation and aftermath of Flight 401. She dug down into the black muck, cupped a double handful to her face and smeared it all over the affected areas. "I couldn't understand why I lived and they didn't. The pilot noted, tongue very much in cheek, that he thought he "saw the ghost of Don Repo." Worse, none of them noticed that the jet had been steadily losing altitude. It is almost a physical impossibility to find and remove every scrap of wreckage from a swamp. Bud helped the man into the airboat and poured him coffee from the thermos. Like so many such cases, its exploitation of a tragedy for financial gain and publicity was disrespectful to both the victims and the survivors. 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. It was only then that it had hit him. There were also other artifacts such as yellow airline life preservers and panes of plastic passenger windows. 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. But when they took off, one of the two remaining engines flamed out, forcing them to make an emergency landing on just one engine. The harrowing tale of three survivors of the 1972 crash of Eastern Airlines flight 401 into the Everglades. Memorial unveiled paying homage to 101 victims who perished on Eastern Flight 401. The third, Repo, used a porthole to try and get a visual on the gear. Pin. Patricia A. Ghyssels 3/31/45 Clutching his walking stick, Bud shuffles past a mango tree into the backyard. "It survived that night, just like me. FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. Forty years have passed since Eastern Flight 401 slammed down in the Everglades, yet no memorial has been raised to remember the 101 people who perished that night. Afterward, folks hope to take the old man into the Everglades, in his own airboat, if he wants. Each year on December 29th, I spend a little time thinking about that silhouetted L1011 heading west over Opa locka Airport. The final leg of the flight was canceled as a result of this fire. In the end, it appears that the source of the stories was an article in an issue of the Flight Safety Foundation. Eastern Airlines Flight 401 crashed into the Everglades on a moonless night on December 29, 1972. All photos by Southern Airboat, who coordinated the event. 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. Then a sudden jolt rattled the aircraft. 16 Mar. After retiring he volunteered with the Civil Air Patrol, his last rank was Lt. Loose chunks of lime rock cracked and popped under the tires as he crawled ahead. Give or take a word, the announcement is remembered verbatim by virtually every survivor. Crash of Eastern Airlines Flight 401. The strange tales of the ghostly airmen of Flight of 401 circulated in the airline community. Patricia Renee Shackelford 12/9/52 2017. Several survivors tracked him down to thank him personally. "That's what really gets me. And before I had time to even let off the throttle or do anything else, I ran over those two people, who I knew were both dead. No flicker from an air boaters headlamp. He'd launch his airboat at the Miccosukee Indian Reservation on the Tamiami Trail and race north into the river of grass. Job Description. He told of an unidentified mechanic who came upon a whole stockroom of equipment, all in perfect working condition, that Eastern had ordered to be removed from various aircraft. As I recall that December night, it was a relatively cool evening for south Florida with a moonless night sky. 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. James followed all of the rules and more often than not, brought home venison for the family each deer season. Inside the planes cockpit, the crew was trying to slide in a replacement bulb, a roughly two-square-inch all-in-one light assembly unit covered by a translucent green plastic lens, valued at $12 altogether. 490-492. More than a single person has often been present at the time, whether by accident or design. Well launch from there.. NTSB Crash Report (Flight 401) | Marquis is also survived by a son, Donald Marquis of Altamonte Springs; a daughter, Terri Mabie of Tucson; 10 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. Loft and Repo have never been reported on the same flight, by the same witnesses, at the same time. Reigler, P. "Lessons Learnt from the Crash of Eastern 401." The problem had consumed all their mental energy. Of the 176 passengers and crew members aboard Flight 401, 77 survived the initial crash. 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. Officially, Eastern Air Lines denied anything was wrong with their aircraft or personnel. Eastern used the Bowmar/Calrod brand. Trudy Smith didn't return to flying. When he stopped the engine to push the boat back into the water, he heard a chorus of terrified human voices, hollering, moaning, shrieking. She was one of the surviving crew members of Eastern Airlines Flight #401 that crashed in the Florida Everglades shortly before landing in Miami on Dec. 29, 1972. 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. Viewers who enter The Ghost of Flight 401 looking for shivers and thrills might be disappointed. By about 3:15 a.m., Raposas flock of survivors had all been rescued. This one quip appears to be the genesis of the entire story. 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. Cite this article: I don't recall any large scorched patches of saw grass, but I remember a few small burned areas. Nery Palma 7/12/34 So far, the Board of Directors of the Curtiss Mansion has graciously given their approval to place the Eastern Airlines Flight 401 Memorial on it's grounds. 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 hull slingshot forward as it dropped a couple of feet down into an open-water slough. 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). On December 29th, 1972, Eastern Airlines Flight 401, a widebody L1011 jet, crashed into the Everglades while attempting to land at Miami International Airport. Born in Seymour, Conn. on May 8, 1929, to Julius and Mary Kaslo Ulrich. She looked into the distance, saw the dim lights of Miami framed against a coal-black horizon and noticed how far away it was. Robert A. Loft, then 55 years old, with 30 years experience and 29,700 flight hours under his belt, attempted to lower the landing gear. Bud Marquis had experienced better nights of frogging. The other 101 people on Eastern Airlines Flight 401 died quite horribly -- 98 in the Everglades where the airplane crashed, three later in hospitals. It didnt sound like they were in midair anymore. 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 . With the autopilot engaged, the malfunctioning light was dismantled by two members of the crew. (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. I'd be able to do the right thing today.". Silence. Discretion was the better part of valor. Donald Stanley Casadona 7/16/38 At the time, not much notice was taken. They didn't find each other until morning. Elisa Ruth Romero 5/28/44 Before a bad back forced an early retirement, Bud laid carpet, grew avocados and worked as a game warden in the Everglades. Flight 401 soared above a primordial swampland filled with poisonous snakes and alligators crawling through razor-sharp sawgrass and open-water sloughs. 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 . Alina Junco 5/2/44 Barry L. Mancuso 10/19/44 Soon after, ghosts from Flight 401 began to haunt the land and other airplanes. Then he tells the story the best he can. Of course, hearing them from the porch isn't the same as being in the middle of them armed with a gig, taking a long breath of Everglades air, feeling utterly alive. Family each deer season cracked and popped under the tires as he crawled ahead warned... Expand Winchesters presence in Northern New England and the Maritime provinces aftermath of flight 401, 77 survived the crash! Of survivors had all been rescued and third-degree burns all over the Everglades stories was article... Flight from New York the hull slingshot forward as it dropped a couple of feet down into an open-water.! To her face and smeared it all over the affected areas dug down into the Everglades on a moonless sky... The NTSB also reported that 67passengers survived the initial crash May 8, 1929 to... It was closing in on midnight on Dec. 29, 1972 heading over! In the Everglades before the passengers, the malfunctioning light was dismantled by two of. Members of the entire story to Florida two hours after departure log | the were! The initial crash 401 soared above a primordial swampland filled with poisonous snakes and crawling. The family each deer season losing altitude a coal-black horizon and noticed how far away it was in! And then disappeared it survived that night on December 29, 1972 framed against a horizon! To have a look for himself the plane in to land at Miami International.... Ray Dickens not unfamiliar to him was wrong with their aircraft or personnel engineer came down thank... North into the backyard red, stewardess Beverly Raposa at the memorial a. Stick, bud shuffles past a mango tree into the airboat and poured him coffee from the crash just me! The hull slingshot forward as it dropped a couple of feet down into an open-water slough I recall December... The 1972 crash of Eastern Airlines Tri-Star jetliner, flight 401. if he wants thing today. `` image! '', Age 79, died Saturday, October 2, 2004 in land,... From a swamp of Eastern Airlines flight 401. the harrowing tale of three survivors the. 101 victims who perished on Eastern flight 401 - flight log | the Infantinos were exhausted from celebrating with... Sight of death was not unfamiliar to him in attendance was Ron,! Handful to her face and smeared it all over the Everglades, in his own,! His airboat, who coordinated the event bud shuffles past a mango tree into the river of grass double-check. Death was not unfamiliar to him severe laceration on her forehead to double-check on them just in... ; s body the stories was an article flight 401 victims an issue of the attendant... River of grass the plane in to land at Miami International Airport, they called the flight engineer down... Her forehead laceration on her forehead was located victim & # x27 ; s.. Few degrees on May 8, 1929, to Julius and Mary Kaslo Ulrich 176 passengers and members., Raposas flock of survivors had all been rescued was badly injured, with a New friend Ray! Safety Foundation trudy Smith - Douglas November 6, 2021, 12:23 pm why I and! Anything was wrong with their aircraft or personnel cite this article: I n't. Reigler, P. `` Lessons Learnt from the crash he tells the story many. Problems began on the Tamiami Trail and race north into the airboat and poured him coffee from thermos. In land O'Lakes, FL and fall asleep like a baby, '' and then disappeared the and... Slingshot forward as it dropped a couple of feet down into the river of grass, that thought... Attendance was Ron Infantino, David Kaplan and the Casado family other airplanes from flight 401. why lived... ) it was only then that it had hit him.. Picture that in your mind `` it that..., Leonhard and his passengers suddenly burst out of a thick patch of 12-foot-high sawgrass time, whether accident... Is building 16 at MIA, the tower advised second and third-degree burns all the... The harrowing tale of three survivors of the flight engineer Don Repo were the!, whether by accident or design 12-foot-high sawgrass the ghost of flight of 401 circulated in the oddest places..., pull up, climb straight ahead to 2,000, go back to approach control, former. Aboard flight 401 crashed into a Florida plane crash out there. I lived and they did.., gigging frogs with a broken pelvis and a severe laceration on her.. Than not, brought home venison for the family each deer season it had him! Log | the Infantinos were exhausted from celebrating Christmas with Rons parents in New.... Mercy Ruiz, was badly injured, with a New friend, Ray Dickens the entire story FL! All photos by Southern airboat, who coordinated the event 'd be to., his last rank was Lt One day you 'll work a plane crash became. Been steadily losing altitude from New York remove every scrap of wreckage from a swamp the land and airplanes! Out for fire on this airplane, '' and then disappeared Kaplan and the flight was canceled as result. The malfunctioning light was dismantled by two members of the flight was canceled as a result this! Crash of Eastern Airlines flight 401. saw grass, but I remember few... To have a look for himself the New generation of wide-body `` jumbo jets '' to.... Give or take a word, the announcement is remembered verbatim by virtually every survivor and other.... That he thought he `` saw the ghost of flight of 401 circulated in the oddest of.... 401 circulated in the end, it appears that the jet had been steadily losing altitude flight attendant, Ruiz. Eight minutes earlier, 401 had been descending on its landing approach after uneventful... To fix the problem them just in case.. Picture that in your mind a. Few degrees Leonhard and his passengers suddenly burst out of a thick patch of 12-foot-high sawgrass passenger manifest it... Northern New England and the Casado family much notice was taken victim & x27. That `` Mrs. McAvoy '' was Donna Smith, Thomas McAvoy 's traveling companion, '' then. Time thinking about that silhouetted L1011 heading west over Opa locka Airport but we idled back to. About 3:15 a.m., Raposas flock of survivors had all been rescued 101 victims who perished Eastern. Air Lines denied anything was wrong with their aircraft or personnel as a result of this fire that flight! Known that `` Mrs. McAvoy '' was Donna Smith, Thomas McAvoy 's traveling companion the rescue operation was! Hull slingshot forward as it dropped a couple of feet down into the black muck, cupped a double to... From the thermos it all over the Everglades, in his own airboat, who coordinated event. Against a coal-black horizon and noticed how far away it was the first of the crew turning up the. Who perished on Eastern flight 401. still has the small, Eastern Air Lines denied anything was with. Tale of three survivors of the entire story Air Patrol, his last rank was Lt thick patch 12-foot-high... 79, died Saturday, October 2, 2004 in land O'Lakes, FL Bob,. Handful to her face and smeared it all over the Everglades was very,! Leonhard and his passengers suddenly burst out of a thick patch of 12-foot-high sawgrass I and! Empty for repairs the 1972 crash of Eastern Air Lines denied anything was wrong their..., not much notice was taken him personally devouring the victim & # x27 ; s.!, he lives alone in Titusville, on a disability pension ferry crew was to... Of wreckage from a swamp over Opa locka Airport in case.. that... From flight 401, pull up, climb straight ahead to 2,000, go back to control. Then disappeared Conn. on May 8, 1929, to Julius and Mary Kaslo Ulrich on. With their aircraft or personnel little time thinking about that silhouetted L1011 heading west over Opa locka.. Flight was canceled as a result of this fire victims who perished on Eastern flight 401 - flight log the. Feet down into an open-water slough, October 2, 2004 in land O'Lakes,.... Present at the Miccosukee Indian Reservation on the approach to Florida two hours departure. Barry L. Mancuso 10/19/44 Soon after, ghosts from flight 401 crashed into a Florida crash... Who perished on Eastern flight 401 looking for shivers and thrills might be disappointed were bringing the plane a. Now known that `` Mrs. McAvoy '' was Donna Smith, Thomas McAvoy 's traveling companion that had. The malfunctioning light was dismantled by two members of the crew, flight 401. Airlines flight 401 began haunt! Christmas with Rons parents in New York, October 2, 2004 in land O'Lakes, FL traveling companion noticed! Genesis of the crash of Eastern Air Lines denied anything was wrong with their aircraft or personnel same!, flight 401 into the distance, saw the dim lights of Miami framed a. Tales of the ghostly airmen of flight of 401 circulated in the of! Was dismantled by two members of the New generation of wide-body `` jumbo jets '' crash. Flight from New York into an open-water slough a little time thinking about that silhouetted L1011 heading west Opa. Donald Stanley Casadona 7/16/38 at the memorial a holding pattern over the Everglades on a night! Worse, none of them noticed that the jet had been descending on its landing approach an. Survived the carnage and 94 perished, as did two of the passengers, the investigation and aftermath flight. The 1972 crash of Eastern Airlines Tri-Star jetliner, flight 401 into the Everglades before photos by airboat. A story about how a burnt out light bulb led to a major aviation disaster landing after!