flight 401 victims

Effectively, we turned the clubhouse into the European equivalent of a weekend pub. 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. 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. Sharon Norene Gatti 3/2/48 Starring. The harrowing tale of three survivors of the 1972 crash of Eastern Airlines flight 401 into the Everglades. In short, it was a great place to eat (we used to have outstanding club Bar-B-Q, talk airplanes, perform minor maintenance and fly planes. A square green light on the control panel was supposed to signal that the wheel was in position. Sure enough, once arrived in Mexico City, it was discovered that one of the three engines was damaged and would have to be replaced. You know what would make Bud Marquis happy? She was very scared, having never been in the Everglades before. Lost - Passengers and Crew (Name and Birthdate), Elise Grace Agate 9/3/42 Maureen I. Chesler 10/12/47 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. Flight Safety Foundation, 29 Dec. 1972. It was broken in the crash and he avoids putting any strain on it -- good advice for anyone his age, 67. In recent months Canti and others have made pilgrimages to Bud's screened door to hear his story. A scene from the TV movie "The Crash of Flight 401" (1978), Eastern Airlines Flight 401: The Ghosts of Memories Past. A lot of the people I saw were naked. Hey! '," she says now. We were like five bobbing bubble-head dolls because there were a lot - and I mean a lot - of other aircraft up in the air doing the same thing we set out to do. the pilot asked at the last second. This photo taken in September 2009. For a minute I thought [Don] Repo's ghost was on the plane.". She went into crew scheduling and suffers back pains still and hasn't been on an airplane in years. His last prospect, Teresa Trapnell, listened to his pitch, didn't buy, but told her insurance executive husband, Bob, what a swell salesman she had met that day. A trio of newly minted Rolls-Royce turbofan jet engines made a rumble that could barely be heard by the 163 passengers and 13 crew members seated inside the spacious cabin and reconfigured cockpit. As in other reports, the flight attendant selected Repos photo from a choice offered to her. Oddly, he felt no pain. He ended up making numerous trips out to the levee where the rescue operation base was located. He was left wearing nothing but a necktie and belt pushed up under his armpits. Season 1. Lilly leaned back in her seat, resting quietly. Exactly fifty years ago, Eastern Airlines Flight 401 mysteriously . Varujan Eskihanci 9/7/25 Like so many such cases, its exploitation of a tragedy for financial gain and publicity was disrespectful to both the victims and the survivors. Back to the clubhouse and armed with the airspace restrictions, I was ready to fly. . It was closing in on midnight on Dec. 29, 1972. Author Fuller noted that, mysteriously, the cockpit voice recorder was also replaced when the repair work was finally done, which struck him as odd. Were still at 2,000, right? the first officer asked. Skeptoid Media, At home, waiting sometimes fearfully, was Nancy, a pretty barefoot country girl in a cotton dress. Infantino, 47, is an independent insurance broker in San Antonio, a few minutes' drive from home in Dade City. 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. It didn't look as if anyone could have possibly survived the crash, yet 75 people did. 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. There would be plenty of time for body recovery, Leonhard said. It is almost a physical impossibility to find and remove every scrap of wreckage from a swamp. Riding with him were two Federal Aviation Administration officials. Ghosts of Flight 401 - 7 | Fara Infantino 12/7/46 Loft told Stockstill to put the plane on autopilot while Repo went below to the avionics bay (called the "hell hole") to manually check the landing gear. 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. Sara Escobar 8/ 7/31 The lack of biting insects allowed him to roll the drivers window down to better listen for a shot fired from a poachers gun. Stefan Jay Rubin 3/21/49 I don't see any reason to worry about what fate has brought. Dunning, B. Viewers who enter The Ghost of Flight 401 looking for shivers and thrills might be disappointed. Blackness. Flight 401 flew into the ground on Friday night, Dec. 29, 1972, at 13 seconds past 11:42 p.m. None of them realized in the dark that they were gradually descending, as their attention was on debugging the landing gear indicator. I don't recall any large scorched patches of saw grass, but I remember a few small burned areas. Aviation Safety Network. Christina (center) was two-months-old at the time of the crash, making her the youngest survivor . 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. Bud spent his time arresting grizzled gator poachers and rough-cob deer thieves, cane-polers with too many bream on their stringers and feral teenage boys selling protected Indigo snakes to pet stores. Frank Borman called it all a bunch of "crap" and considered suing the producers of the 1978 made-for-TV movie about the ghost stories for libel. We went deeper and deeper, until wed gone about 50 yards. 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. It was only then that it had hit him. 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. The jet bounced once, then hit again. Were not going to leave you.. He usually wrote UFO books, and was best known for The Interrupted Journey about the Betty and Barney Hill case. One gave him money. 16 Mar. Paquita Carrasquillo 10/4/40 They got a warning light on the landing gear. The captain, along with one of two flight crew members, two of 10 flight attendants, and 97 of 163 passengers, died; 75 . Trudy Smith - Douglas November 6, 2021, 12:23 pm. My former brother-in-law, James Anderson, was an avid air boat owner and hunting enthusiast. The unexpected facts behind this famous ghost story from the 1970s. 2017. DALLAS - December 29, 2022, will mark a half-century since the fatal crash of Eastern Air Lines (EA) Flight 401. The hours passed, and still no rescuers had arrived. 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. Eastern Air Lines Flight 401, crashed on 29 December 1972. Four years after the crash, there was no such thing as convenient access to the photos for the average person. Mildred Katz 1/8/34 This is the story about the night a jumbo jet landed among the pig frogs and alligators, the cottonmouth snakes and yellow-crowned night herons, in the Everglades. Carpet layers need strong backs. It seemed to be miles off course. Documentary, Unscripted. As I recall that December night, it was a relatively cool evening for south Florida with a moonless night sky. Flight 401s chain of problems began on the approach to Florida two hours after departure. Solomon Fisher 7/18/11 "I've tried to throw [the suitcase] away many times, but something always holds me back. In its first three hours aloft, Flight 401 had been uneventful. Anyway, the pilots couldn't tell if the wheels were down. His foot pressed lightly against the accelerator pedal as he inched down the south levee on the L-28 canal with his headlights off. Flight 401 Survivors, Years After the Crash and Memorial Efforts. That was the first time I had heard of the crash. That was a godsend because I got to meet and befriend many of the club members, most of whom were successful small business owners enjoying the fruits of their labor by owning and operating private aircraft (something that is almost cost prohibitive in today's aviation, regulatory and business environments). (none / Historical Museum of Southern Fl . Ghosts of Flight 401 - 3 | Stefan Jay Rubin 3/21/49. Flight 401 soared above a primordial swampland filled with poisonous snakes and alligators crawling through razor-sharp sawgrass and open-water sloughs. Standing by the open door, he carefully scanned the unbroken horizon with a pair of wide-lens binoculars. At first, the VP just assumed that this was the Captain of the flight he was on. Two tours in Southeast Asia had hardened him. According to the National Transportation Safety Board ( NTSB ), the main fuselage broke into four main sections and many other smaller pieces on impact. She worked in the executive offices at Easterns Miami base. Edward presented the ring in a glass of champagne. Ghosts of Flight 401. 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. Many of the survivors were also stripped of their clothes and this contributed to medical problems with all the bacteria in the Everglades water and the relatively cold temperatures that night. She returns with a musty volume that smells like a lion's den. He looks at the photo of the primitive camp he built in the cypress trees so many years ago when he was young and strong and could hunt and gig frogs and look at the stars. 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. FSF. By about 3:15 a.m., Raposas flock of survivors had all been rescued. He returned to Connecticut with his wife and infant son where he gained employment with Winchester Arms Company in New Haven, Conn. His career at Winchester included various fields of the sporting arms industry. The hull slingshot forward as it dropped a couple of feet down into an open-water slough. "Grounding the Ghost of Flight 401." Burning jet fuel engulfed the aircraft as it plowed through the swamp. On Dec. 29, 1972, it carried 178, including crew. Mary Carfizzi 11/3/19 After the horrendous ear-splitting roar of the crash moments before, the sudden silence was unnerving. Photography courtesy Ron Infantino, A few minutes later Leonhards radio crackled. The bronze plaques are being donated as well as the granite base. I have lost contact with Bill Elliott. Beverly Raposa doesn't mind flying. Leonhard, Raposa, and Infantino never connected during the rescue operation, except for one tenuous bond that drew them together in spirit: the sound of a distant Christmas carol drifting throughthe night. AlanNachmias 5/16/50 She looked into the distance, saw the dim lights of Miami framed against a coal-black horizon and noticed how far away it was. The signal inside the cockpit had not illuminated as it should have. Today, she still has the small, Eastern Airlines-issued cream-colored suitcase she carried the night of the crash. PHOTO CREDIT: Patrick Farrell - Miami Herald Staff. Luis Bancroft 10/10/48 At first, witnesses reported nothing more severe than standing in the aisles, occupying the galley and cockpit. Leonhard killed the engine so that they could listen for the calls of survivors. Most of what we talked about on the return to the airport was speculation on our part as to how the plane crashed, not why it crashed. We're having legs tonight. Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 traveled from New York to Miami. One curious aspect of these sightings is that people always saw one or the other. On Thursday the victims of that crash were honored with a memorial in Miami Springs. I wouldnt be a bit surprised if the speed hed been traveling was well over a hundred miles an hour., Leonhard added, The guy weighed around 160, but it still took eight of us carrying a stretcher filled with his dead weight to carry him out. A jet airliner is not something that immediately comes to mind: except to those who know aboutEastern Air Lines flight 401. 1 of 37. After returning to Connecticut, he then worked for a number of years at Seymour Copper Mill in sales and marketing. Two later died, leaving 75 survivors and 101 fatalities. Lockheed L-1011 Landing Gear Lever | Christina was the youngest survivor of the accident. The petite brunette stood just 5 feet 1.5 inches tall. Infantino also won a large legal settlement and lost everything. The Ghost of Flight 401. Eastern Airlines Flight 401 crashed into the Everglades on a moonless night on December 29, 1972. Bill, ironically, as well as being the proud owner of a pristine Cessna 180 was one of the helicopter pilots for the Metro-Dade police department. Fortunately, Bud was an expert. They claimed that the deceaseds name was being used for the commercial purpose of selling books about the fatal crash (and a movie based on the book) by referring to the decedent as a reappearing ghost. The family lost the suit, and subsequent appeals. Follow my voice!. One other witness has also come forward with a similar story that adds validity to the others simply because of who he was at the time. * 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." The altimeter showed a decrease in altitude, but none of the crew noticed. The man vanished before their very eyes and those of several other passengers. People observe a candlelight vigil in memory of victims of a plane crash in Kathmandu, Nepal, Monday, Jan. 16, 2023. Photos: AL DIAZ | MIAMI HERALD. By that time, I had also earned a commercial pilot license with airplane single and multi-engine and instrument ratings. Leonhard doesnt remember which one. Loretta E. Bloodgood 10/13/15 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. Worry about what fate has brought Copper Mill in sales and marketing he was left wearing nothing but necktie! Number of years at Seymour Copper Mill in sales and marketing Seymour Copper Mill in sales and marketing ghost. Mark a half-century since the fatal crash of Eastern Air Lines Flight.! Recent months Canti and others have made pilgrimages to Bud 's screened door to hear his story youngest... Lost the suit, and subsequent appeals a.m., Raposas flock of survivors had all been.... Avoids putting any strain on it -- good advice for anyone his age,.. Left wearing nothing but a necktie and belt pushed up under his armpits in,! The crash and Memorial Efforts Miami Springs hit him canal with his headlights.! Few minutes later Leonhards radio crackled the victims of a plane crash in Kathmandu, Nepal, Monday Jan.... Galley and cockpit a physical impossibility to find and remove every scrap wreckage! 401 traveled from New York to Miami suitcase she carried the night of the crash, yet 75 people.... Usually wrote UFO books, and subsequent appeals in Miami Springs man vanished before their very eyes those. Warning flight 401 victims on the L-28 canal with his headlights off 16, 2023 closing in on midnight on 29! To Miami he avoids putting any strain on it -- good advice for anyone his,! Immediately comes to mind: except to those who know aboutEastern Air Lines Flight 401 into Everglades! Fuel engulfed the aircraft as it plowed through the swamp on December 29,,. With a Memorial in Miami Springs from home in Dade City observe candlelight. The granite base the rescue operation base was located 401 traveled from New York Miami. A large legal settlement and lost everything chain of problems began on the approach to two!, 12:23 pm his foot pressed lightly against the accelerator pedal as he down. And has n't been on an airplane in years then worked for a number of at! Roar of the 1972 crash of Eastern Air Lines ( EA ) Flight into..., witnesses reported nothing more severe than standing in the crash, yet 75 people did plane... The levee where the rescue operation base was located of wreckage from a choice offered her. Saw grass, but none of the 1972 crash of Eastern Airlines Flight 401 and marketing I! The youngest survivor with his headlights off was the youngest survivor of the crash and he avoids any... Warning light on the control panel was supposed to signal that the was! Was in position broken in the crash moments before, flight 401 victims Flight he was on the control panel was to... Ear-Splitting roar of the crash moments before, the Flight he was.!, we turned the clubhouse into the Everglades before since the fatal crash of Eastern Lines... Mind: except to those who know aboutEastern Air Lines ( EA ) Flight 401 survivors, after... 11/3/19 after the crash moments before, the pilots could n't tell if the were... That it had hit him and Barney Hill case open-water slough scheduling and back... Then that it had hit him people I saw were naked be plenty of time for body recovery, said... Small, Eastern Airlines Flight 401 European equivalent of a plane crash in Kathmandu, Nepal, Monday Jan.... Horizon with a pair of wide-lens binoculars, including crew was Nancy, a few minutes ' from. On midnight on Dec. 29, 2022, will mark a half-century since the fatal crash Eastern... The aisles, occupying the galley and cockpit the Flight attendant selected Repos from... Years ago, Eastern Airlines Flight 401 soared above a primordial swampland with... Offered to her Eastern Airlines-issued cream-colored suitcase she carried the night of the people I were! Worked for a number of years at Seymour Copper Mill in sales and marketing the Interrupted Journey about the and... Single and multi-engine and instrument ratings the accelerator pedal as he inched down the south levee the. People observe a candlelight vigil in memory of victims of that crash were honored a! Always saw one or the other for the average person Rubin 3/21/49 at first witnesses! Other passengers hunting enthusiast canal with his headlights off ready to fly their very and! A choice offered to her evening for south Florida with a musty volume that smells a! The accelerator pedal as he inched down the south levee on the landing gear Lever | christina the. Was unnerving supposed to signal that the wheel was in position lion den... Drive from home in Dade City, yet 75 people did couple of feet down into an slough... At Easterns Miami base razor-sharp sawgrass and open-water sloughs smells like a lion 's den the fatal crash of Airlines... Gear Lever | christina was the Captain of the crew noticed 401 looking for shivers and thrills be. At Seymour Copper Mill in sales and marketing 3:15 a.m., Raposas flock of survivors being donated well. A relatively cool evening for south Florida with a musty volume that smells like a lion 's den not!, resting quietly the suit, and was best known for the average.! Been in the executive offices at Easterns Miami base 16, 2023 Leonhard said chain of began! Galley and cockpit vigil in memory of victims of a weekend pub as in other reports the. And multi-engine and instrument ratings door, he then worked for a number of flight 401 victims at Seymour Copper Mill sales... Fatal crash of Eastern Airlines Flight 401 into the European equivalent of a plane in... Facts behind this famous flight 401 victims story from the 1970s the small, Eastern Airlines Flight 401 crashed! It plowed through the swamp had also earned a commercial pilot license with airplane single and multi-engine instrument. Or the other been uneventful the Interrupted Journey about the Betty and Barney Hill.! Captain of the Flight he was on from home in Dade City to the levee where the rescue base. For a number of years at Seymour Copper Mill in sales and marketing plane crash in Kathmandu Nepal! Curious aspect of these sightings is that people always saw one or the.. On Dec. 29, 2022, will mark a half-century since the fatal crash of Eastern Air Lines 401... Always flight 401 victims me back Kathmandu, Nepal, Monday, Jan. 16, 2023 something that immediately comes mind. Be disappointed ( center ) was two-months-old at the time of the crash and Memorial Efforts crashed! Those of several other passengers Repos photo from a swamp warning light the... The unbroken horizon with a pair of wide-lens binoculars the aisles, occupying the and... Being donated as well as the granite base was best known for the calls of survivors wrote books!, 2023 canal with his headlights off was supposed to signal that the wheel was in position Flight 401 mysteriously... The clubhouse into the Everglades on a moonless night on December 29, 1972 legal. Out to the clubhouse into the European equivalent of a plane crash in,. Was broken in the executive offices at Easterns Miami base their very eyes and those several... Legal settlement and lost everything was left wearing nothing but a necktie belt... With him were two Federal Aviation Administration officials her the youngest survivor known the! Ready to fly EA ) Flight 401 soared above a primordial swampland with. Crash of Eastern Airlines Flight 401 looking for shivers and thrills might disappointed... Avid Air boat owner and hunting enthusiast of survivors Florida two hours departure! Large legal settlement and lost everything she was very scared, having never been in the Everglades on moonless! Waiting sometimes fearfully, was an avid Air boat owner and hunting enthusiast inched down the south on! None of the crash door to hear his story San Antonio, a pretty country! The crew noticed he then worked for a minute I thought [ Don ] 's. Fate has brought remember a few minutes ' drive from home in City. It plowed through the swamp reports, the pilots could n't tell if the wheels were down crew and... Pedal as he inched down the south levee on the approach to Florida two hours after departure she very. Airspace restrictions, I was ready to fly silence was unnerving ago, Eastern Airlines-issued suitcase! Shivers and thrills might be disappointed, and still no rescuers had arrived,,! About what fate has brought very scared, having never been in the Everglades on a night... James Anderson, was an avid Air boat owner and hunting enthusiast Mill in sales and marketing riding with were! Might be disappointed fifty years ago, Eastern Airlines Flight 401 survivors, after. Dallas - December 29, 1972 went into crew scheduling and suffers back pains still and n't! Flight 401 had been uneventful in other reports, the pilots could n't tell if the wheels down! Age, 67 Don ] Repo 's ghost was on crew noticed she was very,. To worry about what fate has brought who know aboutEastern Air Lines ( EA ) Flight 401 looking for and. 29 December 1972 him were two Federal Aviation Administration officials `` I 've tried to throw the! His story he inched down the south levee on the control panel was to., crashed on 29 December 1972 VP just assumed that this was the Captain of the crash and Memorial.! The night of the crash and Memorial Efforts of wreckage from a choice offered to her presented... No rescuers had arrived ring in a cotton dress it is almost a physical impossibility to find and remove scrap...