In December 1972, there was a deadly | by Verity Partington | The Mystery Box | Medium 500 Apologies, but something went wrong on our end. It is featured in season1, episode3, of the TV show Why Planes Crash, in an episode called "Human Error" (2010). Perhaps the most extraordinary and credible research into the ghost phenomenon ever documented is the so-called "Ghosts of Flight 401."On December of 1972, an Eastern Airlines Tri-Star jetliner, Flight 401, crashed into a Florida swamp.Read the accident report (PDF). Elizabeth M. Pollack 12/10/17 "He was just a guy out there frogging and minding his own business who knew he had to help people in trouble. Rons eyes blinked open upon hearing the engines roar to full power. Trans World Airlines Flight 800 was carrying 230 people, including four cockpit crew members and 14 flight attendants. They died. Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 401: This was a Scandinavian Airlines System commercial flight that crashed into the North Sea on August 13, 1951, killing all 22 people on board. Abbey Lynn Greenwald 9/18/52 Raposa, Beverly | I should add that Dorothy R. Loft and her two children, Kimberly and Robert, Jr sued Fuller for invasion of privacy over the book . On a moonless night, in the beam of his head lamp, the frog eyes would glow like rubies. No gunshots. On December 29, 1972, Eastern Air Lines flight 401 left New York's JFK airport and crashed on its approach to Miami, killing 101 of the 176 people on board. /24-7PressRelease/ - MIAMI, FL, December 07, 2007 - On Monday, December 3, 2007 survivors of Eastern Airlines Flight 401, gathered at the Metro-Dade Firefighters Memorial Building, in Doral (Miami), Florida, to remember the 101 passengers and crew, who lost their lives in the fateful crash of a Lockheed L-1011, jumbo-jet in the Florida Everglades, December 29, 1972, while en route from New . The Infantinos were exhausted from celebrating Christmas with Rons parents in New York. The flight should have taken around 18 hours. Photos: AL DIAZ | MIAMI HERALD. "I've tried to throw [the suitcase] away many times, but something always holds me back. Lloyd Irving Bearman 1/16/23 At approximately 2340R 29 December 1972, Eastern Airlines Flight 401, a Lockheed 1011, with 178 persons on board, crashed in the Everglades 18 miles west of Miami International Airport. Eastern's L-1011's came equipped with six Bowmar ovens (Lockheed Part Number 671878-115). His flight crew included First Officer . 09:23AM EST Miami Intl - MIA. It's broken, just like him. The hours passed, and still no rescuers had arrived. That credo seems to be exemplified in every major airplane crash. The wheels were down, locked in position for landing, but the pilot wasn't sure about the forward wheel under the plane's nose. Two tours in Southeast Asia had hardened him. Other than those observations, I don't recall much more from that flight. Only small fragments of metal marked the wingtip's first contact, followed 49ft (15m) further on by three massive 115ft (35m) swaths cut through the mud and sawgrass by the aircraft's extended undercarriage before two of the legs were sheared off. He was out that night on his airboat, gigging frogs with a new friend, Ray Dickens. What caused Flight 401 crash? I mean, I was a single person with no family. Richard Childs 5/21/52 If cities had soundtracks, none would sound quite like Nashville. They failed to notice that the autopilot had been disconnected inadvertently and, subsequently, the aircraft gradually lost altitude and crashed. AlanNachmias 5/16/50 Based on the book, it dramatized the crash, rescue efforts, and NTSB investigation. . About Flight 401 | Leonhard doesnt remember which one. 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. Photography courtesy Ron Infantino, A few minutes later Leonhards radio crackled. He also attacked his other daughter, who luckily survived the attack. From a half mile above, it's like an artist's canvas. The following conversation was recovered from the flight voice recorder later: Less than 10 seconds after this exchange, the jetliner crashed: The location was west-northwest of Miami, 18.7mi (30.1km) from the end of runway 9L. Dummett hopes that the event will inspire a permanent memorial to Eastern Flight 401, similar to the ValuJet Memorial off the Tamiami Trail in the Everglades. "It survived that night, just like me. 2h 48m. Maria Elena Gonzalez 9/3/51 [5]:30[6]:99 The aircraft was fleet number 310, and the 10th TriStar delivered to the carrier. [5]:6,16[9] However, the NTSB concluded that the captain's tumor did not contribute to the accident. I was a kid, 21 years old. Eastern management must have taken the stories somewhat seriously, however. That's where the helicopters, one after another, landed that night, and where ambulances arrived to load the dead and injured. But it kept jamming. On Dec. 29, 1972, Eastern Flight 401 from New York to Miami took off from JFK Airport at 9:20 pm. After a few minutes they saw the lights of rescue helicopters, circling, searching, much too far east and south. It was a solemn and sobering return flight. I diplomatically told James that I couldn't take possession of the large pieces of wreckage. The flying club was also a de facto social club with members having the common bonds of flying and aircraft ownership. Roberto Palma 6/10/27 Unborn son of Rochelle and Stefan Rubin Grand Canyon Disaster + . Shortly before midnight on December 29, 1972, the Lockheed L-1011-1 TriStar crashed into the Florida Everglades,[1][2][3] causing 101 total fatalities. He carried survivors to safety and made them as comfortable as he could. 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. But Infantino couldnt follow the voice. Bill Elliott had a much more eventful night. Christina (center) was two-months-old at the time of the crash, making her the youngest survivor . I was then almost 26 years old and had recently graduated from Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. There would be plenty of time for body recovery, Leonhard said. [6]:101 The pilots cycled the landing gear, but still failed to get the confirmation light. Instead, he would witness the first jumbo jet crash in U.S. history. The hull slingshot forward as it dropped a couple of feet down into an open-water slough. The cloak of black was made all the more intense by the surreal stillness. The Ghost of Flight 401 was based on the tragic Eastern Air Lines airplane crash in December 1972, and the alleged supernatural events which followed; it was eventually turned into a popular 1978 made-for-television movie. The Ghost of Flight 401. 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. December 21, 2022, 5:00 AM. He had to make a detour of some 50 miles before he would arrive at the boat ramp on the north side of the Tamami Trail. The breakup of the fuselage had freed it from its stowage and activated its inflation mechanism. Still, $50,000 will have to be raised in order to erect the memorial. Aground. In unison, we looked up to see the silhouette of a Lockheed L1011 flying westbound at an altitude of about 2,000 feet. The plane was crossing over the Everglades on Dec. 29, 1972 . I told Hansel that we needed to check, before we got into the air, whether there were any flight restrictions over the crash site which seemed pretty logical to me. These and other requirements are imposed for the purpose of meeting the collective objectives of the Aviation and 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. Back to the clubhouse and armed with the airspace restrictions, I was ready to fly. "Just his upper body can be seen.". The tall building behind the plane is Building 16 at MIA, the former headquarters of Eastern Air Lines. ValuJet Flight 592 was a domestic passenger flight between Miami International Airport, Miami, Florida, and William B. Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport, Atlanta, Georgia that crashed into the Everglades on May 11, 1996 as a result of a fire in the cargo compartment caused by improperly stored cargo, killing all 110 people on board. He'd stay calm, look at the stars for direction, think things through, then crank up the airboat engine and find his way back to the Tamiami Trail. 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. The apparitions of Loft and Repo were invariably described as being extremely lifelike. 2023-Feb-14. 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. The flight is referenced as part of the Bob Welch song "The Ghost of Flight 401" on his 1979 album Three Hearts. December 29, 2022 / 10:12 AM / CBS Miami. He'd cruise up on the frog, spear the frog with the 3-pronged gig, knock the frog off the gig into a sack, all the while moving forward in the airboat while getting ready to gig another frog. A Malaysia Airlines flight carrying 298 passengers crashed in eastern Ukraine on Thursday while traveling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. Ron Infantino woke up in a chill, heart pounding, breath erratic. The single-engine Cessna 152 was . Bernard A. Goldfuss 11/2/22 The powers-that-be want them to . Sir, dont worry, he said. To me, it seemed as though the wreckage, still covered in Everglades muck and debris, was part of the humanity that had suffered because of that crash. That's why Hansel wanted me to fly; it would be my license that got revoked if we got caught, not his! Caridad Fermina Hernandez 10/11/32 Oddly, he felt no pain. Photo credit: Don Boyd of Sun Bird Photos. Donadeo is still active in aviation, as state vice commander of the Civil Air Patrol. The flight was routine until 23:32 when the plane began its approach into Miami International Airport. He lost interest in his job and just wanted to be alone. 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. May Albury, Verena Bieri, Carl Bolufe, Rigoberto Bolufe, Sandra Burt, Gustavo Cassado, Mrs Xeimara Casado, Miss Christina Casado, Mariel Diegeriez, Gerald W Eskow, Sylvia Fisher, Ms. F. Frankin, Herbert Fresko, Molly Fresko, Alicia Garcia, Julia Garcia, Kathryn F.Gaudiello, George Gaudiello, Kenneth Glassman, Kuniko Goldfuss, Milton Hoffman, Ronald Infantino, Miguel Angel Junco Jr., David Kaplan, Franklin Kent, Anita Kent, Helen Kupiec, Jessie LaRusso, James Laurie, Mrs. Leone Levine, Cornelia Leya, Thomas McAvoy, Joseph Mazur, Rose Mazur, Luis Mejia, Richard N. Micale, Albert J Morris, Janice Minguzzi, Christina Ochoa, Allen Okanawsky, Oneida Pares, Aristides Pares, Martha Pares, Carlos Polanco, Lucino Polanco, Joseph Popson, Richard Pragluski, Goldez Quinico, Evelyn Ragalia, Marie Rego, Glen Remkus*, Francoise Riette, Thomas Rothenberg, Martin Siminerio, Bonnie Silverman, Donna Smith, Millie Soberon, Jerald Solomon, Larry Sumpkins, Marilyn Taylor, Edward Ulrich, Jesse C. Walker, Alan Weiss, Lorenzo Zetlin. A Coast Guard helicopter flew toward them, sweeping the marsh with a bright searchlight, and then turned away. 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