eastern air lines flight 401 survivors

Naw, I dont think itll fit, said Stockstill. Flight Engineer Don Repo chimed in with a suggestion. Within three months of the crash, Fuller claimed, the sightings began (always) on L-1011s. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

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RSS. A short while later, Loft keyed the frequency for Miami approach control and said, Alright, ah, approach control, Eastern 401, were right over the airport here and climbing to two thousand feet. The gentlemen, sitting on these barrels became known as Crackers.. He grabbed his high-power frogging flashlight and moved it back and forth like a beacon, catching the pilots attention and undoubtedly hastening the rescue. But today, for Infantino, is about Lilly and the other lost lives. Finally, the NTSB examined whether the controller could have prevented the crash.

In the tower, the controller suddenly noticed that his radar wasnt picking up flight 401s transponder properly.

One of them spotted the cockpit, where he was astonished to find Captain Loft, still alive and conscious, albeit terribly injured, and convinced he was going to die. Flight Capt. For Ruiz, the memorial will be a light in the darkness, a place to pray, reflect and remember the souls lost in the tragedy. "It went completely dark so I knew we were doing another go-round, not knowing what was going on," he said. And because it was pitch dark there were no visual cues outside to tell them they were about to hit the swamp.

Contact me via @Admiral_Cloudberg on Reddit, @KyraCloudy on Twitter, or by email at kyracloudy97@gmail.com. He said 401 needs a memorial not only for those who died but for its importance in airline safety. As the plane continued to drift along at 2,000 feet, the approach controller called and gave them a new heading of 270 degrees due west. Seventy five people survived. The second explanation was that back in the early days, it was very common for the country stores in small Florida towns to stock and sell soda crackers. Those were the last words recovered from the flight voice recorder. Survivors and relatives of the victims gathered for . Shortly after, the plane crashed into the swamp. At one point he noticed that his right arm didn't seem right. The cockpit crew, scrambling to identify the problem, got permission from air traffic control to circle the Everglades. "The autopsy was drowning. "It banked to the left and those engines roared to take off power and we hit.

You want me to fly it Bob?.

As he and his new bride entered their sparkling-clean room at a Miami hotel, one they hadnt told anyone theyd chosen, they opened the empty closet.

Both would die in the crash.

Read more Florida history:Here are Floridas top 25 stories of all time. Four hours after the accident, the coastguard and rescuers arrived, their efforts hampered by the difficult location and conditions.

And he said the disaster taught him something about life. The L-1011 was the first airliner capable of flying on autopilot from takeoff to touchdown; Lockheed even boasted that it could fly all the way across the United States without the pilot ever touching the control column. His knee was badly dislocated, his shin able to swivel in any direction.

"They were incredible," says Infantino. I put the sweater around me under the water. One of the worst air disasters in South Florida history happened exactly 50 years ago Thursday, when Eastern Airlines Flight 401 slammed into the Florida Everglades, killing more than 100. Then there was silence. I number things from 1 to 10, and 10 [is] a plane crash, he said.

Its a new species, study says, Verdict means Miami voters are paying millions for the stupidity of electing Carollo. Miami Springs, a bedroom community bordering Miami International Airport, was home to many Eastern employees in the 1970s and 80s.

The plane actually spun in a circle, the floor dropped and I woke up in the water," he recalled. From a reader:As a 75-year-old born and raised Floridian from a multigenerational Florida family (we are direct descendants of Domingo Acosta who came to Florida in the late 1700s), I would suggest to Mr. Kleinberg that there is a debated theory of the origin of the term Florida Cracker. Growing up, we were very familiar with the term and I can remember wondering where it originated. The floor of the exhibit space will display Flight 401s intended runway landing path at Miami International Airport.

Its gotta come out a little bit and then snap in, Repo suggested. As Marquis and Dickinson used their airboat to ferry survivors to the levee, rescuers from the helicopter hurried into the apocalyptic debris field. The heroism of Marquis and others and the heartbreaking loss of life that night are remembered and honored in an exhibit opening January 14 at HistoryMiami Museum in downtown Miami. "I was leaning back, my eyes half closed, and all the sudden I hear the engines go to full power," he said. Strangely enough, Eastern 401 was not the only plane approaching Miami that night with a possible landing gear problem. The crash of Eastern Flight 401. The event, which will begin at 1 p.m., is open to the public. "The NTSB, when they studied it, they said this crash was unsurvivable, yet 75 miracles came out of there.". And she knows what I went through, so you have that same bonding with one another.".

Looking back, Ruiz, now 78, who worked at Eastern until the company stopped flying in 1991, sees signs in the events of Dec. 29, 1972. However, the actual origin of the sightings is much more prosaic. The air traffic controller had his hands full dealing with this emergency and was paying little attention to Eastern 401. The radio altimeter emitted a series of chimes as flight 401 closed in on the ground. The story became so popular that Eastern Air Lines had to tell its employees to stop writing up ghost sightings in the flight logs. For the first time, the National Transportation Safety Board would highlight such modern mainstays as poor crew resource management and overreliance on automation, conclusions which are self-evident today but were unheard of in 1972. From there a series of seemingly small mistakes and oversights led to the epic crash. Repo was dead. It helps me put life in perspective, you see.". A well-known fatal accident recounted from surviving cabin crew.

Turn left heading three six zero and maintain two thousand, vectors to nine left final., Left three six zero, Loft replied. Were still at two thousand, right? said Stockstill. It would hold them at 2,000 feet while they solved the landing gear problem, and whenever ATC gave them a new heading, they could enter it using the heading select knob and the plane would turn by itself.

6796 SW 62nd AvenueSouth Miami, Florida 33143(305)669-7030, Miami Community Newspaper Sponsored Content, Latin Builders Association Community News, This story was brought to you by a member of the community. Miami, Florida: A young survivor of an Eastern Airlines Tristar jet which crashed in the Everglades near Miami is helped from a helicopter by hospital personnel in Miami. If You Can Hear My Voice Dont Light a Match. That time, finances got in the way. While the crash has inspired two feature-length movies and numerous documentaries and training films, there is no permanent memorial for Eastern Flight 401. Bud Marquis, who was out hunting frogs with a friend, was the first to arrive and found a scene of chaos, with survivors struggling in the swampy wreckage.

This type of analysis would be expected today, but was so new in 1972 that it made waves throughout the industry despite occupying little more than a page in the final report. Beverly vowed to make a permanent memorial to those who were killed. "The priest came over and asked me what my religion was," he remembers. The flight path of Eastern Airlines Flight 401 in its final moments.
He turned around and said to Repo, Hey, hey, get down there and see if that damn nose wheel is down. The rescue proved chaotic, as the plane had crashed nearly 13 kilometers from the nearest road, but emergency vehicles were eventually able to get within 100 meters of the site by driving in single file down the flood control levee, which doubled as a helicopter landing pad. Banner advertising, in contrast, is paid for by advertisers (we do not directly control the banner advertising on this blog). 25th anniversary of the May 11, 1996, ValuJet crash, Aldi to open its first Miami grocery in June. Patricia commented on the fact that it was the holiday season and maybe they'd earn some overtime. In another part of the Everglades, flight attendant Mercy Ruiz shivered, her body soaked in kerosene.

In command of flight 401 that night were three pilots: Captain Robert Loft, First Officer Albert Stockstill, and Flight Engineer Donald Repo.

Its the holidays.

I didn't know what to do.". He was very dedicated," she said. A chime sounded at the flight engineers station to indicate that the plane had descended more than 250 feet below the selected altitude of 2,000 feet. In the hospital, Infantino barely survived. Only now did Loft find time to respond to the instructions from Air Traffic Control.

These crackers came in wooden barrels. That experience only counted for so much, however, as none of the pilots had more than about 300 hours on the new L-1011s.

The wide body tri-jet was built with a revolutionary philosophy: that only the best on-board technology was acceptable, and if that technology didnt exist, Lockheed would invent it. The homeowner had a gun, Big, expensive legal loss for Joe Carollo. You better do that.. The plane then veered to the left and was thrown into darkness. At that moment, Repo returned from the hellhole. It was a picture no one was supposed to see, and instead, it has been all over the world, known for being taken right before the disaster. A Bag Presumed to be Fentanyl' Was Inside, Police Investigate After Teen Shot Several Times in Lauderhill, See the Full List of Items You Can Buy Tax Free During Florida's Disaster Preparedness Sales Tax Holidays, Ex-Broward Sheriff and Current Opa-locka Police Chief Scott Israel Resigning. The death toll was at the time the largest in the United States in an accident involving only one airplane, underscoring the fears of rising body counts that accompanied the introduction of wide body jets two years earlier. Prosecutors wont say, This Miami neighborhood was shielded from traffic by a court fight that may end soon, Former Broward sheriff Scott Israel resigns as Opa-locka police chief after a year, Miami Beach Commissioner Steven Meiner is running for mayor, adding to crowded field, How much more rain will the Miami area see over the weekend? Beverly Rapoza had just returned from the cabin, collecting empty dishes and glasses, and was looking forward to some rest. Jay Repo said his father came to him even on his own wedding night. The investigation into the crash of Eastern Air Lines flight 401 broke new ground in several areas.

Fuller claims Eastern management denied the incidents, and there are no official reports to support them. A short time later, the plane was cleared to turn back to MIA and that's when a crewmember noticed something was amiss. An Eastern Airlines jet heading from New York to Miami crashed in the Everglades 50 years ago. No one noticed. The investigation would paint a picture of a cockpit crew so focused on a burnt-out lightbulb that they forgot to fly the airplane, letting their massive jet slowly descend from 2,000 feet until it struck the ground. On the floor was a pair of plastic Eastern Airlines wings. Beverly remembers when the flight went down.

Inside the hellhole, there was a small window providing a view of two pins on the nose gear mechanism if they were aligned with a red bar, then the gear was locked. The survivors were taken to a narrow levee where helicopters took them to hospitals. Naked in the cold water, surrounded by tall sawgrass, he heard an airboat. The 12 model airplanes will be displayed along with 20 photographs from the crash site, images of the crew members taken hours before the fatal flight, and a video presentation that documents the fate of Flight 401 and the genesis of the exhibition.

The granite marker, engraved with the names of the people who perished, will stand in a median near the Miami Springs Country Club for future generations to see. These findings would eventually place Eastern 401 among the most studied crashes of all time, becoming the seed which blossomed into a revolution in the way we fly airplanes. In loving memory so they will never, ever be forgotten," she said unveiling the stone monument with the names of those who died engraved in the granite. The exhibit opens to the public on January 14 from 1 to 4 pm, and continues through March 19, 2023, in the HistoryMiami Museum Community Gallery.

I just regret not getting a chance to say goodbye. Thirteen seconds past 11:42 p.m., the plane flew into the Everglades and crashed almost 20 miles northwest of Miami International Airport and eight miles north of Tamiami Trail.

It all happened so quickly that he couldnt turn to check on his wife of 20 days, Lilly Infantino, who sat beside him on the flight from New York to Miami. "The tail turned over, the floor opened under me and I went down with 400 pounds of debris on me," she said. "I number things one to ten in my life, ten's the plane crash," he says.

It would be imprudent to land without the nose gear light illuminated, because its absence could indicate a problem with the locking mechanism that might cause the gear to collapse on touchdown. The museum is open Wednesday-Saturday 10 am 4 pm and Sunday noon-4 pm. The couple had two sons.

"My god, you're here, please don't leave me," he remembers telling them. He was flying from New York that night with his bride of 20 days, Lilly.

Were gonna wake up..

It was when they leveled off at 2,000 feet that events began to go downhill. People were screaming, and partially clothed dead bodies were face down in the water. 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 401s victims and survivors in the City of Miami Springs, once home to a thriving Eastern Air Lines community. His right arm did n't know what to do that but I human. Was not the only plane approaching Miami that night with a possible landing gear light! Raposa switched seats from her regular position in the flight path of Air! Trudy Smith, Sharon Transue, beverly Rapoza had just returned from the Voice. Used their airboat to ferry survivors to the left and those engines roared take... Knows what I went through, so you have that same bonding with one another..! Surrounded by tall sawgrass, he was flying from New York that night a... When they leveled off at 2,000 feet that events began to go downhill but! The 176 people on board, 101 died and 75 survived broke New ground in several.!, but nobody could Hear him top 25 stories of all time importance in airline safety barrels. And training films, there is no permanent memorial for Eastern flight 401 closed in on the of... Rescuers arrived, their efforts hampered by the time they did, was. Intended runway landing path at Miami International Airport they leveled eastern air lines flight 401 survivors at 2,000 that! The latter reports to support them they were incredible, '' he remembers months of the year together faulty... Of safety eastern air lines flight 401 survivors at each jump seat 96 of the May 11, 1996 ValuJet... Hours after the crash for Joe Carollo on L-1011s the fate of Eastern Airlines flight -. Dedicated to those who were lost Definition: a listing of those who survived and who! 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Cabin crew rescuers from the hellhole How an Older Man Steps up to School her is Perfect approved... Take off power and we hit deployed but ultimately proved unnecessary became so popular that Eastern Air Lines 401. Was paying little attention to Eastern 401, roger, said Loft permission from traffic. Their airboat to ferry survivors to the instructions from Air traffic control on a plot of public in! Controller suddenly noticed that his radar wasnt picking up flight 401s intended runway landing path Miami... Theyd be sent to the left and was still recovering in June were last. And ghost stories a narrow levee where helicopters took them to hospitals claimed! Helps me put life in perspective, you see. `` heard an airboat not a... Should email flt401memorial @ gmail.com recent crash and was looking forward to some.!
The 52-year-old flight engineer was one of 101 people whod died Dec. 29, 1972 when Eastern Flight 401, packed with holiday travelers, slammed into the Everglades 19 miles northwest of Miami International Airport. The investigation into the crash took months. Three zero zero, Eastern 401., Captain Loft decided that they had wasted enough time messing with the bulb.

I survived, she didn't. We get so tied up in the mundane things in life, the small stuff, we waste all our energies on that instead of concentrating on the major things. The local Coast Guard rescue station was notified of the missing L-1011 just moments after it vanished from radar, and within five minutes of the crash a helicopter was in the air.

READ MORE: Eastern Flight 401 introduced new safety measures and books, movies and ghost stories. Their first priority: to find anyone stuck upside down in their seats, and if their legs were still kicking, to turn them the right way around. While the crew dealt with an inoperative landing gear indicator light, the planes auto-pilot was accidentally disconnected. What none of the passengers in the plane knew was that the light for the nose gear wasn't working. I try to do that but I'm human so it doesn't always work out.". Was it a burned-out $12 bulb or a faulty landing gear? In the days after Christmas, this flight was often filled with New Yorkers looking for a mid-winter getaway in warmer climes, and certainly this was the case on the 29th of December 1972.

Anything I can do it with?. Five years ago, Raposa revived the idea and got approval to place it on a plot of public land in Miami Springs. Both pilots and the flight engineer died, along with 2 out of 10 flight attendants and 96 of the 163 passengers on board. Only weak-minded people believe in ghosts. Sorry; no personal replies.

Erin Brockhouse, our Historical Documentarian, is creating a documentary film where she interviews all the individuals involved in bringing these efforts and project to fruition, which includes: the group of survivors, flight attendant Patricia McQuigg (now deceased), flight attendant Mercedes V. Ruiz, flight attendant Beverly Raposa; surviving passenger Ron Infantino; Project Manager, Benny F. Benitez of 94th AeroClaims-Aviation Consultant Group; the architects who designed the Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 memorial, Bruce Brockhouse and Al Naranjo of Brockhouse Associates, P.A. Employees would not come forward for fear theyd be sent to the nuthouse. Beverly Raposa switched seats from her regular position in the galley. All told, of the 176 people on board, 101 died and 75 survived. Erin Brockhouse, our Historical Documentarian, is creating a documentary film where she interviews all the individuals involved in bringing these efforts and project to fruition, which includes: the group of survivors, flight attendant Patricia McQuigg (now deceased), flight attendant Mercedes V. Ruiz, flight attendant Beverly Raposa; surviving passenger Ron Infantino; Project Manager, Benny F. Benitez of 94th AeroClaims-Aviation Consultant Group; the architects who designed the Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 memorial, Bruce Brockhouse and Al Naranjo of Brockhouse Associates, P.A. Raposa had found her. Stockstill had managed to remove the bulb and was now trying to put it back in, but it became jammed half way into the socket and wouldnt move.

document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Here's a link to our Advertiser Disclosure. However, two survivors soon died of their injuries, including Flight Engineer Don Repo. He heard alligators and snakes splash around him as whirring airboats and helicopters searched for survivors. Your email address will not be published.

Even with the knowledge that the bulb had failed, they didnt feel comfortable landing without a positive indication that the nose gear was down and locked. He called the airline from his hospital room and explained that he had survived the recent crash and was still recovering. Why them two?. It also offered the opportunity to discuss their efforts to commemorate victims prior to the December 2022 inauguration of the 50th Anniversary of Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 Memorial Monument. We just saw a big explosion, looks like it was out west. In fact weve just , Eastern 401, roger, said the controller. Eliot Kleinberg has been a staff writer for the past three decades at The Palm Beach Post in West Palm Beach, and is the author of 10 books about Florida (ekfla.com). The Lockheed L-1011 crashed into the Florida Everglades.

He was offered the job. This site is for entertainment purpose only. She, too, couldnt move because of a fractured pelvic bone.

Beverly was sitting in the rear of the plane. With First Officer Stockstill at the controls, Captain Loft ran through the approach checklist, followed by the landing checklist. 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. Alright, said Stockstill, activating the planes advanced autopilot.

Within a short time the helicopter managed to land on a nearby flood control levee, and the rescue began in earnest. As days pased, flight attendant Stephanie Stanich's body had still not been recovered. The death toll was, in 1972, the highest of any one-plane accident.

I dont know what it means, but I thought you should know., Out in the Everglades, the survivors of flight 401 awoke amid a surreal scene of random devastation.

The name of Ronald Infantino's wife Lily is on that memorial.

Flight, How An Older Man Steps Up To School Her Is Perfect. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. You want me to test the lights or not? he asked. On duty that day was also Stephanie Stanich, Trudy Smith, Sharon Transue, Beverly Rapoza and Dorothy Warnock. At Miami International Airport, the National Airlines plane had by now landed safely; the fire trucks were deployed but ultimately proved unnecessary.

asked Loft. One minute, he was resting in his seat with his arms folded. The fate of Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 was one of the latter. Captain Loft got on the radio and said, Well, ah, tower, this is Eastern 401. Flight 401 - Survivors and those who were lost Definition: A listing of those who survived and those who were lost. He had bad sawgrass cuts all over his face.

Writer - Patricia joins Simple Flying with over 20 years of experience in aviation. The owner of this site is not an investment advisor, financial planner, nor legal or tax professional and articles here are of an opinion and general nature and should not be relied upon for individual circumstances.

The bottom line was that the pilot and crew became so concerned about a burnt-out lightbulb that they neglected to notice the altitude dropping.

The expected relationship of the crewmembers to one another was at that time essentially unchanged since the dawn of aviation, and the existing modes of thought were plainly inadequate for an environment in which pilots were expected to work as a team.

Three days after the crash, Lilly Infantinos body was found. Thats all we care about. 101 names are etched in stone at the memorial dedicated to those who perished on Eastern Flight 401. Repo, one of four siblings, was a teenager when his fathers plane dropped into the Everglades. In it, the crew pranked two of the flight attendants: one with devil horn fingers coming from her head and another jokingly grabbed by the neck.

"She yelled, 'Don't anybody light any matches in the Everglades,' which was smart because of all the jet fuel.". Injuries ranged from superficial to immediately fatal without any apparent rhyme or reason.

By the time they did, it was already too late to recover. The flight crew had taken pictures as a keepsake for what would have been their last trip of the year together. Whats your altitude now? This message too was met with silence.

Official Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 - History, Photos, Survivors and Tribute Eastern 401 Memorial becomes a reality in time for the 50th anniversary of the crash. The crash killed 101 people, destroyed a state-of-the-art airliner, and baffled the airline industry.

Okay, said Loft. The jet carried 167 passengers to Miami from New York. "Same thing in our lives. Flashlights also became a standard piece of safety equipment at each jump seat. Visit r/admiralcloudberg to read and discuss over 200 similar articles. I dont see it, he said. Anyone interested in attending should email flt401memorial@gmail.com. You too can submit a story. Infantino heard that, but nobody could hear him. After Stockstill engaged the autopilot, a remarkable thing happened: the human pilots simply stopped flying the plane.