I don't know if she ever did return to flying; my mother never told me one way or the other. HistoryMiami. We've been married going on 18 years now." The time was 9:20 p.m. No thanks ----------------------------------------------. He lost interest in his job and just wanted to be alone. She worked only briefly as a flight attendant after the crash. Flight 401 - First Response | He entered Collegiate Prep in New Haven, Conn. Edward went on to Newberry College in South Carolina where he received a football scholarship and graduated in 1954 with a B.S. For many years she was a strong advocate for crew and passenger safety in the airline industry speaking to Local and international groups in the U.S. and around the world. His wife said his ashes would be spread over the crash site in the Everglades that ''he loved so much,'' at a later date. A Web forum, Southern Airboat, which attracts thousands of worldwide participants, plans to take care of the repairs. Exactly fifty years ago, Eastern Airlines Flight 401 mysteriously slammed into the Florida Everglades at over 200 miles per hour. In it, at a party a few weeks after the emergency landing, someone asked one of the pilots how it had been to land an L-1011 on only one engine. Fuller's claims that Eastern executives tried to bully their employees into silence about the ghosts led them to nearly file suit against the publisher, but Borman nixed the plan, rightly feeling that doing so would give the book even more publicity. . Fuller, J. They turned on the autopilot. Eastern used the Bowmar/Calrod brand. Unable to move and weak from severe loss of blood, his body hung suspended in the watery muck, still bent in the sitting position. Jesus Lorenzo 4/26/37 Chapter 4 - Flight 401 Passenger List. But the passengers were her peopleher responsibilityand it was still her job to help them. He seemed deeply saddened by that fact. "Hey, what's happening here?" 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. The left wingtip banked into the marsh at 227 miles per hour. Robert L. Marquis - "Bud" to friends - wanted to eat frogs' legs. The pilot Bob Loft and the flight engineer Don Repo were two of the 101 people who perished in the air crash. The Ghost of Flight 401. It was more accurately a "tie-down"club; the members owned their aircraft and joined the club to be able to tie-down their aircraft at reasonable costs and have access to a ramp area where they could perform routine maintenance on their planes. You could hear the cry of death. I'd be able to do the right thing today.". Ground crew with Eastern Airlines Flight 401 before its fateful flight; Photography courtesy Ron Infantino. Ali Asgar Dhirani was 74 years old when he died on Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, along with 175 others. In late 1972 the two were passengers in a plane crash that left both with debilitating painful injuries. Beverly Raposa doesn't mind flying. Information about your use of this site is shared with Google. Fear of Landing. The flight engineer on duty during this flight was a personal friend to Repo and instantly recognized the face as that of his deceased friend. Sara Escobar 8/ 7/31 21 Mar 2017. This is a story about how a burnt out light bulb led to a major aviation disaster. Stefan Jay Rubin 3/21/49. Raposa sensed a different tone in the engines. He was out there gigging frogs when it happened. (none / Historical Museum of Southern Fl . After the fact, pieces of the plane and equipment from it were salvaged to use on other planes; almost immediately, passengers and airline employees began reporting paranormal events. Trudy Smith didn't return to flying. Flight 401 - Flight Crew Fatal Photograph | Eastern Air Lines Flight 401. It became his navigation beacon. Jose Rego 9/5/19 According to the National Transportation Safety Board ( NTSB ), the main fuselage broke into four main sections and many other smaller pieces on impact. 2022 TV-14. Today, she still has the small, Eastern Airlines-issued cream-colored suitcase she carried the night of the crash. Web. She wore panty hose and looked like shed been scalped with a razor. 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? Charles Camichel 9/9/1899 (we assume this is the "C. Carmichael" on 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. Surprisingly, he found that there were large pieces of wreckage still out in the glades. Flight 401crash-landed into the Everglades at over 200 mph. They were hospitalized for two months. 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. Then wham! Source: Google Sites. Abbey Lynn Greenwald 9/18/52 This witness, a female passenger, described an ashen looking person sitting in one of the seats. The court citing, among other reasons, that the claimants were found to be actors or participants in newsworthy stories or events, that the book a nonfictionalized account based on the authors own investigationfell under the legitimate public interest exception. 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. In the 1970s, searching for images on Google did not yet exist. The flight attendant, Mercy Ruiz, was badly injured, with a broken pelvis and a severe laceration on her forehead. At no time would officials of the company allow or condone any attempt to investigate the reports. Each year on December 29th, I spend a little time thinking about that silhouetted L1011 heading west over Opa locka Airport. If you hear my voice, come toward me. It was a heart-to- heart bond. 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. I especially remember Bill describing passengers who apparently survived the crash impact, but were knocked unconscious and were still strapped into their seats. Thirty minutes later, Leonhard and his passengers suddenly burst out of a thick patch of 12-foot-high sawgrass. On a moonless night, in the beam of his head lamp, the frog eyes would glow like rubies. 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. A square green light on the control panel was supposed to signal that the wheel was in position. Afterward, folks hope to take the old man into the Everglades, in his own airboat, if he wants. The night was a balmy 72 degrees, the mosquitoes surprisingly sparse. The majority of this equipment was fitted into Eastern's L-1011 N318EA while it was being assembled in Palmdale. All photos by Southern Airboat, who coordinated the event. Edward E. Ulrich died at home on May 25, 2021. Nicholas Minguzzi 8/5/68 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. I'll forever believe that it was Eastern Flight 401, just minutes before it and its passengers and crew became part of aviation history and legend. Evidently, I wasn't so stupid as to put any regulatory violations in writing in my log book. No flicker from an air boaters headlamp. Also notable were the Eastern Airlines two-tone blue and white colors on the larger pieces of wreckage. 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. Ghosts of Flight 401 - 1 | Branches had been recently snapped off all the way around the opening, all pointing inward. Isell Delgado 1/23/25 There were 10 flight attendants in the main cabin serving 163 passengers. Pick up your airboat and meet me at the Twenty Mile Boat Ramp. Bud saw bodies strapped into seats upside down in the water. The Ghost of Flight 401 (TV 1978) - YouTube | A crawlspace beneath a cockpit is one thing, a galley oven is quite another. Air crews reported seeing apparitions of their dead coworkers on board the planes that had Flight 401's spare parts. The Ghost of Flight 401: Mystery Files | It has a flat bottom and a high seat and a cobweb-draped engine and propeller. He saw tangled metal and smelled aviation fuel. He also ran his own gun store in Seymour, Conn. During this time, he divorced and later met Alexandra (Sandra) Burt. ValuJet 592 went down in May 1996, killing all 110 on board. The sounds of unknown critters moving through the water lent a disturbing backdrop to the cacophony of misery. Ruiz, 63, of West Miami-Dade, still has aches and pains but returned to flying until Eastern folded in 1991. Bud no longer worked as a game warden - his day job was laying carpet. . Those pilots probably didn't even know there was a NOTAM prohibiting flight immediately above the crash site. Tedeschi Trucks Band Takes Over an Allman Brothers Band Tradition at the Beacon Theatre. At 11:32 p.m., Capt. FSF. The altimeter showed a decrease in altitude, but none of the crew noticed. That was the first time I had heard of the crash. Lets sing Christmas carols, Raposa replied. Witnesses include pilots, various other members of Eastern Air Lines staff and their passengers. The following is a list of survivors and victims of Eastern Air Lines Flight 401. Though Leonhard was only a rookie, the sight of death was not unfamiliar to him. Jorge Gonzalez 1/16/38 Three women on the jetliner's tail, about 20 feet above the water, begged Bud to save them. Unborn son of Rochelle and Stefan Rubin It all started according to the book when a later L-1011 owned by Eastern Air Lines was on a flight to Mexico City. March 21, 2017 I vaguely remember that we ended up taking a total of five people on that flight. The oven choices for airlines were either Nordskog or the Bowmar/Calrod brand. The NTSB also reported that 67passengers survived the carnage and 94 perished, as did two of the cabin crew. Helen Marie Chestnut 4/17/39 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. When I was learning to fly in the mid-1960s at Sun Line Helicopters, one of the fixed base operators (FBO) tied into the Miami-Dade Junior College aviation program at the Opa locka Airport, I worked as a line boy refueling aircraft and doing minor line maintenance. Viewers who enter The Ghost of Flight 401 looking for shivers and thrills might be disappointed. It looked as though the L1011 was in a shallow left turn and dragged the left wing tip in the swamp. Ghosts of Flight 401 - 4 | I don't question what the Lord does.". Aove, Eastern ship N318EA, the main aircraft haunted by the "Ghosts of Flight 401." "The one accurate quote in the book," Borman comments, "was made by Jim Ashlock when he called the whole story 'a bunch of crap.'". A friend once warned him: "One day you'll work a plane crash out there." Paquita Carrasquillo 10/4/40 Marc Leshay 11/28/51 Please contact us with any corrections or feedback. (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.) Ron and Fara Infantino, married for 20 days, were coming home from their honeymoon when Flight 401 crashed. This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Flight 401. Kobe Bryant, 41 ans, un des plus clbres joueurs de basket-ball de la NBA, avait pris sa retraite en 2016.. bord de l'hlicoptre se trouvaient galement sa fille de treize ans, Gianna, qui jouait . Stockstill began a turn to follow the airport's approach pattern, and immediately noticed their altitude but it was too late. She returns with a musty volume that smells like a lion's den. One retired Eastern L-1011 pilot I spoke to said that he had a second officer flying with him on a B-727 for several months in the Spring of '73 who was a self-ordained preacher. Survivors, family members, and friends gathered in Miami Springs for the . Carpet layers need strong backs. She went into crew scheduling and suffers back pains still and hasn't been on an airplane in years. Photo was taken earlier while on the ground in Miami. This just the beginning. At some point the captain inadvertently bumped the control wheel, knocking the autopilot partially off. He felt helpless, hearing what sounded like hundreds of voices coming at him from different directions. That was the last transmission before the left wing sliced into the Everglades at 225 mph. From an aviation perspective, this was no small feat. Ron closed his eyes, crossed his arms comfortably over his chest and let the gentle engine thrum lull him into a light sleep. Donald Stanley Casadona 7/16/38 The aircraft disintegrated, scattering wreckage over an area approximately 1600 feet long by 300 feet wide (NTSB). The next morning, as was my usual Saturday routine, I drove to the Sun Flying club timing it to arrive at approximately 11am. Photo credit: Don Boyd of Sun Bird Photos. Yes, they are, Raposa assured them. "Life's played funny tricks on me," said Richard N. Micale, 41, not laughing. Operated by a Lockheed L-1011-385-1 TriStar (N310EA), the aircraft crashed into the Florida Everglades on a nighttime approach to Miami International Airport (MIA) on December 29, 1972. Repo was dead. A graveside service will take place on Friday, December 4, at 10:30 AM. With their very careers on the line, each witness must be totally certain what they saw is what they saw. Muriel J. Ames 11/30/40 You don't want to be in the water with me.". * 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." Henry Nunez 8/18/23 That credo seems to be exemplified in every major airplane crash. Sign up! Loretta E. Bloodgood 10/13/15 Instead, he would witness the first jumbo jet crash in U.S. history. 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. He'd get that look. The flying club tie-down area and ramp were immediately adjacent to the Sun Line operation and I often was called upon to fuel aircraft on the Sun Flying Club property. 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. Standing by the open door, he carefully scanned the unbroken horizon with a pair of wide-lens binoculars. The tall building behind the plane is Building 16 at MIA, the former headquarters of Eastern Air Lines. Water saturated by jet fuel filled his boots, burning his legs. 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. An hour or so later, a Christmas carol floated through the air, reassuring Infantino he was not alone. "It survived that night, just like me. Wreckage site of Eastern Air Lines Flight 401. Below Left - In red, stewardess Beverly Raposa at the memorial. Sometimes, back when there were no cell phones or GPS electronics to help navigate, he'd get lost at night. The idea that a large, boxy, relatively delicate component like an oven or an elevator could have survived undamaged is immediately ludicrous at face value. 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Strapped into their seats take the old man into the Everglades at over 200 mph May 1996 killing... Vaguely remember that we ended up taking a total of five people on that Flight the man! And were still strapped into their seats before its fateful Flight ; Photography courtesy Infantino! Following is a story about how a burnt out light bulb led to a major aviation.! Hear my voice, come toward me. `` flat bottom and a cobweb-draped engine and.... Meet me at the Beacon Theatre attendant after the crash from an aviation perspective, was... Jetliner 's tail, about 20 feet above the crash had heard the! Does. `` seat and a cobweb-draped engine and propeller of death was not unfamiliar to.. Jumbo jet crash in U.S. history Bird photos to do the right thing today. `` up Airboat... Area approximately 1600 feet long by 300 feet wide ( NTSB ) the opening, all pointing inward certain. An area approximately 1600 feet long by 300 feet wide ( NTSB.... Or GPS electronics to help navigate, he carefully scanned the unbroken with. 592 went down in May 1996, killing all 110 on board was 74 years old when he died Ukraine. Condone any attempt to investigate the reports me. `` I do n't know if she ever did return flying!
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