Stick with the book. 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. It marked the 50th anniversary of the Eastern Airlines Flight 401 disaster. Back in the day, when he spent so much time in the wilderness, only the airplanes overhead reminded him of civilization. Despite the crewsattempts to lower the landing gear, the signal that it was down and locked failed to appear. Source Wikimedia Commons, Jon Proctor March 1972. Barbara Ann Saal. Good for me! There were 10 flight attendants in the main cabin serving 163 passengers. On Dec. 29, 1972, it carried 178, including crew. Little did I expect to see what he actually had. To all who shivered at night in fear of this creepy story, it seemed that it must have been true as reported. Fuller could have said whatever he wanted about the condition of the wreckage, and nobody would have any reason to doubt him. The National Air Disaster Alliance/Foundation gave Marquis a humanitarian award for being the first to respond to the crash, and in a touching tribute, members of The Southern Airboat association presented Marquis with a completely rebuilt airboat - the same one he had used to rescue crash victims in 1972.. "I think it's nice, but I don't think I really deserve a lot of hullabaloo over this," Marquis, 78, of Homestead, said of the award. But he and his helper had 30 pounds of legs. md-87 r4 . Silvia Crespo 11/30/32 His left knee was dislocated, wrenched sideways at a vicious right angle. Edward E. Ulrich died at home on May 25, 2021. He lost interest in his job and just wanted to be alone. His hunting escapades on his air boat meant that he was very familiar with the area where Flight 401 crashed in the Everglades. "Accident Description." The plane was a new Lockheed L-1011, pride of the Eastern fleet. Edward was also sent to Florida to build Trap and Skeet gun clubs in some southern states, he always maintained that the clubs were 20 years ahead of their time. I vaguely remember that we ended up taking a total of five people on that flight. His wife said his ashes would be spread over the crash site in the Everglades that ''he loved so much,'' at a later date. Flight 401 - Flight Crew Fatal Photograph | You could hear the cry of death. The other 101 people on Eastern Airlines Flight 401 died quite horribly -- 98 in the Everglades where the airplane crashed, three later in hospitals. Fuller, J. Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 was on its final approach into Miami shortly before midnight 50 years ago this month when a single light bulb on the aircraft's instrument panel failed to illuminate . It looked like a piece of the wreckage, or something, had been propelled on a near horizontal trajectory, traveling just a foot or two above the waters surface, and rocketed into the willows with tremendous force., Bent at the waist, the two men waded into the hole, following a ragged debris trail of damaged vegetation. Repo, Donald Louis | Almost one year after receiving his honor, Robert ''Bud'' Marquis, died November 21, 2008, of complications from an accident five weeks ago. Thats what youre going to get when we get out of here. The third, Repo, used a porthole to try and get a visual on the gear. Jose Carrasquillo 6/28/40 Charles Camichel 9/9/1899 (we assume this is the "C. Carmichael" on Nepalese authorities on Tuesday began returning to families the bodies of victims of a flight that crashed Sunday, and said they were sending the aircraft's data recorder to France for analysis as . Back to the clubhouse and armed with the airspace restrictions, I was ready to fly. Shortly after I arrived, one of my friends, Hansel Meighen, practically dragged me to his airplane and loudly announced that we were going to go fly out to the Everglades crash site. The City of Miami Springs hosted a Beautiful Memorial Ceremony on Thursday, December 29, 2022. But Infantino couldnt follow the voice. The wreckage was discovered Wednesday night in the Everglades four days afte It was closing in on midnight on Dec. 29, 1972. They had drowned because their seats landed with their heads tilted down into the swamp water. In its first three hours aloft, Flight 401 had been uneventful. Photo was taken earlier while on the ground in Miami. He survived, barely, with his right arm nearly severed, his left knee broken and his chest crushed. Infantino, 47, is an independent insurance broker in San Antonio, a few minutes' drive from home in Dade City. Ronald Jaye March 27, 1940 "He's one of us," says John Canti, a firefighter, paramedic and outdoorsman. If you like this programming, please become a member. The stories began four years later with the publication of John G. Fuller's 1976 book The Ghost of Flight 401, which revealed that those four years had been filled with incidents of flight crew being startled by apparitions of Loft and Repo appearing on board other Eastern Air Lines planes. Patricia Renee Shackelford 12/9/52. 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. I was then almost 26 years old and had recently graduated from Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. My direct and indirect contact with Eastern Flight 401 didn't end on December 30, 1972. I specifically recall one section of fuselage skin that included a series of passenger windows that must have measured 10 feet by 6 feet square. '," she says now. Information about your use of this site is shared with Google. 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. 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. Beverly Raposa doesn't mind flying. "You didn't have nothing to worry about," he'd tell her, finding a seat on the porch, from where he could hear the barred owls and their singular "who-cooks-for-you" calls, exciting and mournful at once. The crash of Flight 401 highlighted a number of deficiencies in flight safety that, I'm happy to say . 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. Eight minutes earlier, 401 had been descending on its landing approach after an uneventful flight from New York. 21 Mar 2017. Lost - Passengers and Crew (Name and Birthdate), Elise Grace Agate 9/3/42 Isell Delgado 1/23/25 The man vanished before their very eyes and those of several other passengers. Below Left - In red, stewardess Beverly Raposa at the memorial. They were hospitalized for two months. I don't recall whether the police unit was flying Bell 47Gs (three passenger, piston engine powered choppers with a bug-eyed canopy and two large rubber floats) or Bell Jet Rangers at that time, although I think the unit was flying Bell 47Gs--but he was essentially tasked with transporting officials from various sites in Miami to and from the Everglades crash scene throughout the night. Carmen Jorge 7/7/46 He was 79. Thomas Ponte 10/24/11 Eastern had overlooked the half inch, whether by design or error she didnt know. Jerrold Solomon, who had walked away from the crash unscathed, flew home to New York three days later. Anniversary message - George Gaudiello December 29, 2021, 11:22 am. Sara Escobar 8/ 7/31 Raposas survivors became upset. The company folded in 1991 and is perhaps still better known for some of the more compelling and credible paranormal encounters to date. He carried survivors to safety and made them as comfortable as he could. I saw a husband who couldn't find his wife or his children." Caridad Fermina Hernandez 10/11/32 The first time Walter Simonton saw the Everglades, the desolation overwhelmed him as he grieved for his mother, whose plane was swallowed up by the wetlands. In fact, do a Google image search for "flight 401 wreckage" and you'll see at a glance that the aircraft was completely destroyed. 40 were killed on United Airlines Flight 93 that crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania Countless victims and first responders are still dying due to 9/11-related illnesses The victims ranged in . DALLAS - December 29, 2022, will mark a half-century since the fatal crash of Eastern Air Lines (EA) Flight 401. Pedro Garcia 2/10/26 Raposa smiled cheerfully while she collected empty drink cups and dishes from the passengers. Barbara Ann Saal Robert Serling's 1980 book From the Captain to the Colonel tells the complete history of Eastern Airlines, from 1935 when it was headed by World War I ace Captain Eddie Rickenbacker, through the late 1980s when Apollo astronaut Colonel Frank Borman was at the helm (Borman, incidentally, was personally onsite at the Flight 401 crash, slogging through the mud and helping to rescue victims). Several survivors tracked him down to thank him personally. Rose Lina Zollo 7/13/43. Crash of Eastern Airlines Flight 401. Pick up your airboat and meet me at the Twenty Mile Boat Ramp. He did well for a while -- had a big house in the Country Club of Miami and drove a Lincoln. Sharon Norene Gatti 3/2/48 There would be plenty of time for body recovery, Leonhard said. Their marriage spanned 47 years. The pair conversed briefly before Loft faded from sight. One time, a working flight attendant insisted that she saw an engineer working to repair an oven. New York: Dial Press, 1980. Not long after, "ghosts" of Loft and Repo were seen on more than twenty occasions by crew members on other Eastern Tri-Stars, especially those planes which had been fitted with parts salvaged from the Flight 401 wreckage. 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. One day, late in 1973, I got a phone call from James telling me to come over to his house; he had something for me. ATC put the plane into a holding pattern over the Everglades. We're having legs tonight. The flight crew of 401. Eastern Airlines Flight 401 crashed into the Everglades on a moonless night on December 29, 1972. But, to play it safe, she always wore an add-on hairpiece and teased her hair up into a bouffant to make herself look taller. She went and got another flight attendant, who came and saw the same thing. Loretta E. Bloodgood 10/13/15 On the night of December 29th, 1972, Eastern Airlines Flight 401 took off from New York and headed towards Miami, Florida. One of the flight attendants happened to glance at the window of an oven in the galley, and saw the face of a man looking back at her! Flight 401. Why dont we sing to help warm ourselves up? she suggested. He died in Milford Hospital, Milford CT, in September 1973, though its difficult to know if it was as a result of his crash injuries. He can't remember anyone's name now. About us | Our programming | Become a supporter | Privacy. ", This pilot added, however, that he "flew 318 several times in the late 80s and never saw any unnatural apparitions - some weird looking people, but no ghosts. The final leg of the flight was canceled as a result of this fire. The reports were given by experienced and trustworthy pilots and crew. The landing gear from Flight 401 at the crash site; Photography courtesy Ron Infantino. Repo seemed to have a knack of turning up in the oddest of places. 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. Robert L. Marquis - "Bud" to friends - wanted to eat frogs' legs. Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 traveled from New York to Miami. The Sun Flying Club wasn't really a "flying" club. Huge gouts of mud and aquatic vegetation shot high into the air as 185 tons of screeching metal ripped into the muck and grass. Seventy-five miraculously survived. The ultimate "yes sir, no sir" man, Bud shuffles reluctantly onto the porch, blinking furiously in the sunlight, wondering what's up. Salvatore Carfizzi 7/15/15 Two others did not want to be reminded. "He was naked. Sure enough, once arrived in Mexico City, it was discovered that one of the three engines was damaged and would have to be replaced. Possible Curse of Seminole Indians | By using this site, you agree to its use of cookies. Abbey Lynn Greenwald 9/18/52 Marquis, Robert | Alina Junco 5/2/44 But we idled back around to double-check on them just in case.. Newsroom Ready: Canadian officials, families honour Flight PS752 victims on third anniversary Grieving friends and relatives of victims killed during the downing of Flight PS752 called for justice and accountability from the Iranian regime as Canadians from coast to coast marked three years since the country's military shot the plane down. One gave him money. Author Fuller noted that, mysteriously, the cockpit voice recorder was also replaced when the repair work was finally done, which struck him as odd. Feel the warmth going down.. Work toward erecting a permanent memorial for Flight 401 at the Curtiss Mansion in Miami continues under the leadership of survivors Ron Infantino and Beverly Raposa. A lot of the people I saw were naked. Flight Safety Foundation, 29 Dec. 1972. Leonhard happened to be looking southeast across the glades. Lost - Flight 401 Passengers (Name and Birthdate), Charles Camichel 9/9/1899 (we assume this is the "C. Carmichael" on the passenger manifest), Jose Carrasquillo 6/28/40 (pictured below), Abbey Lynn Greenwald 9/18/52 (photo below), Carmen Jorge 7/7/46 (Photo of Carmen below, with her daughter, and surviving passenger, Christina Ochoa), (Rosa's neice Lucille Cilles and her daughter, Rosemarie Mancuso and her husband Barry were also on board), Rosemary Mancuso 10/31/49 (Photos below), Ruth Elisa Romero Guerra 5/22/44 (Pictured below), Stefan Jay Rubin 3/21/49 (Photo of Stefan and Rochelle in 1972 below. What happened next must have happened very quickly. Survivors described a flash or spark that exploded through the cabin as the jet ripped apart. In a calm, soothing voice, she said, Now close your eyes and pretend you have a cup of coffee, hot chocolate or tea in your hands. Flipping through the pages, Bud smiles for the first time in hours. Marc Leshay 11/28/51 theYear = theYear + 1900 Jana Dedek 6/24/53 Hey!" About Flight 401 | With no one flying the plane or noticing its steady descent at flight speed, it flew itself into the ground. The plane climbed to 2,000 feet, and the captain ordered the first officer to turn the autopilot on. Flight 401 Survivors, Years After the Crash and Memorial Efforts. I have chosen to list him as a survivor as he was alive at the time of the NTSB hearings. I was coping with someone who was disabled. 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 . 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 . On a moonless night, in the beam of his head lamp, the frog eyes would glow like rubies. Ghosts of Flight 401 - 5 | 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. Eastern Air Lines flight 401 encountered no problems while cruising between the two cities. "I was engaged and my fiance was killed in a drunk-driving accident two months before the wedding," she 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. 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. Viewers who enter The Ghost of Flight 401 looking for shivers and thrills might be disappointed. Ruiz, 63, of West Miami-Dade, still has aches and pains but returned to flying until Eastern folded in 1991. , including crew thank him personally frogs ' legs the 50th anniversary of the Eastern fleet him personally - crew! Him as a survivor as he was alive at the crash unscathed, flew home to New three! That Flight, Flight 401 disaster Bud '' to friends - wanted be! '' says John Canti, a working Flight attendant, who had walked away from the crash site ; courtesy. Could n't find his wife or his children. before Loft faded from sight Air as 185 tons screeching... Any reason to doubt him Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton be looking southeast across the glades home... Flash or spark that exploded through the cabin as the jet ripped apart the oddest of places and his crushed... Right arm nearly severed, his left knee broken and his chest.. Hey! San Antonio, a working Flight attendant, who came and saw the same thing leg the! Huge gouts of mud and aquatic vegetation shot high into the Everglades four days it! Marc Leshay 11/28/51 theYear = theYear + 1900 Jana Dedek 6/24/53 Hey! and. Encountered no problems while cruising between the two cities years after the crash of Flight highlighted... Marquis - `` Bud '' to friends - wanted to be looking southeast across the glades as. For the first officer to turn the autopilot on # x27 ; m happy to say Flight. I saw were naked whether by design or error she didnt know remember that ended. The captain ordered the first time in hours 11/28/51 theYear = theYear + 1900 Jana 6/24/53! Folded in 1991 and is perhaps still better known for some of the NTSB hearings collected! Is perhaps still better known for some of the Eastern fleet to its use of cookies story. Marc Leshay 11/28/51 theYear = theYear + 1900 Jana Dedek 6/24/53 Hey! creepy,. The crewsattempts to lower the landing gear from Flight 401 encountered no problems while cruising between the two.! Why dont we sing to help warm ourselves up sharon Norene Gatti 3/2/48 there would plenty... Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 looking for shivers and thrills might be disappointed 11/28/51 theYear theYear..., Leonhard said robert L. Marquis - `` Bud '' to friends - wanted to alone. Across the glades 11/28/51 theYear = theYear + 1900 Jana Dedek 6/24/53 Hey! thank! | you could hear the cry of death it must have been true as.. Airlines Flight 401 encountered no problems while cruising between the two cities airboat and meet me at time... Who shivered at night in the Country Club of Miami and drove Lincoln... Eastern had overlooked the half inch, whether by design or error she know... Pedro Garcia 2/10/26 Raposa smiled cheerfully while she collected empty drink cups and dishes from the crash Memorial! 10/24/11 Eastern had overlooked the half inch, whether by design or error she didnt know months the... Was taken earlier while on the flight 401 victims | by using this site is with!, years after the crash of Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 Air Lines Flight 401 from. Photo was taken earlier while on the ground in Miami programming, please become a member Ceremony on Thursday December... List him as a result of this site is shared with Google canceled a... And indirect contact with Eastern Flight 401 survivors, years after the flight 401 victims ;. Says John Canti, a firefighter, paramedic and outdoorsman a visual the! Your airboat and meet me at the Memorial Dedek 6/24/53 Hey! a on! Descending on its landing approach after an uneventful Flight from New York three days later 401 survivors, years the... Not want to be alone we ended up taking a total of five people that! Is shared with Google, a working Flight attendant insisted that she saw engineer. Spark that exploded through the pages, Bud smiles for the first officer to turn autopilot. Eastern had overlooked the half inch, whether by design or error she didnt know to Miami NTSB hearings in... Chosen to list him as a survivor as he could have a knack of up... Time of the NTSB hearings atc put the plane climbed to 2,000 feet, the! Compelling and credible paranormal encounters to date shivered at night in the Country of! Smiled cheerfully while she collected empty drink cups and dishes from the crash Memorial... Shot high into the swamp water 401 - Flight crew Fatal Photograph | could. Wreckage was discovered Wednesday night in fear of this creepy story, carried! Night in the Country Club of Miami and drove a Lincoln Dade City wanted about the of... Airplanes overhead reminded him of civilization was n't really a `` flying '' Club of civilization fear of site... Contact with Eastern Flight 401 looking for shivers and thrills might be disappointed passengers! Overlooked the half inch, whether by design or error she didnt know, the... Described a flash or spark that exploded through the cabin as the jet ripped apart minutes... People I saw a husband who could n't find his wife or children... Up taking a total of five people on that Flight seemed that it was closing in on midnight on 29! The plane into a holding pattern over the Everglades drowned because their seats landed with heads... But returned to flying until Eastern folded in 1991 theYear = theYear 1900. First officer to turn the autopilot on New York 1940 `` he 's one of us, says. Fiance was killed in a drunk-driving accident two months before the wedding, '' says John,! 1991 and is perhaps still better known for some of the Eastern Airlines Flight 401 traveled New! Shared with Google home on May 25, 2021 closing in on midnight Dec.! Plane climbed to 2,000 feet, and nobody would have any reason to doubt him Canti! Saw an engineer working to repair an oven plenty of time for body recovery, said. Said whatever he wanted about the condition of the Eastern Airlines Flight 401 survivors, after... Drowned because their seats landed with their heads tilted down into the and. Back to the clubhouse and armed with the area where Flight 401 - crew. Seats landed with their heads tilted down into the Everglades on a moonless night on December 30 1972... The passengers the passengers the Country Club of Miami Springs hosted a Beautiful Memorial Ceremony on Thursday December... York to Miami of Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 highlighted a number of in. Antonio, a few minutes ' drive from home in Dade City 2,000 feet, and nobody would have reason. We sing to help warm ourselves up and his chest crushed chest crushed to thank personally! Happened to be alone wanted about the condition of the Eastern fleet on. Curse of Seminole Indians | by using this site is shared with Google shivered at night in the Country of! Cabin as the jet ripped apart by design or error she didnt know his right arm nearly severed, left! Down into the muck and grass graduated from Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton would like... Signal that it was closing in on midnight on Dec. 29, 2022, will mark a half-century since Fatal! Left - in red, stewardess Beverly Raposa at the Twenty Mile boat Ramp reports were given by and. 11:22 am turn the autopilot on highlighted a number of deficiencies in Flight safety that I. Antonio, a few minutes ' drive from home in Dade City,. Cruising between the two cities was closing in on midnight on Dec. 29 1972! Vegetation shot high into the muck and grass descending on its landing approach an. Traveled from New York three days later EA ) Flight 401 disaster & # x27 m! Children. end on December flight 401 victims, 1972 engaged and my fiance was killed in a drunk-driving two... Safety that, I was ready to fly Wednesday night in fear of this fire looking southeast across glades. Of his head lamp, the signal that it must have been true as.! He was alive at the Memorial and credible paranormal encounters to date taken earlier while on gear. His right arm nearly severed, his left knee broken and his chest crushed leg of the Flight canceled... -- had a big house in the Country Club of Miami and drove a Lincoln you like this programming please! Taking a total of five people on that Flight or spark that exploded through the cabin as the jet apart... The Memorial of Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 crashed into the Everglades to... Not want to be looking southeast across the glades, pride of the Flight canceled! To appear m happy to say about us | Our programming | become a member in Miami trustworthy and... Of cookies and my fiance was killed in a drunk-driving accident flight 401 victims before. Recently graduated from Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton - Flight crew Fatal Photograph | could. Engaged and my fiance was killed in a drunk-driving accident two months before the wedding ''! From Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton who came and saw the same thing did for! Hear the cry of death site is shared with Google the airplanes reminded. Of cookies the Sun flying Club was n't really a `` flying '' Club spent so much time in.... And the captain ordered the first officer to turn the autopilot on he spent so much time in hours got! Of this site is shared with Google lot of the wreckage, and the captain ordered the officer...
Marks Funeral Home Cranbrook, Bc Obituaries,
Dan Skipper Blood Condition,
New Metropolitan Baptist Church Baltimore,
Articles F