Repo, Donald Louis | During a rare moment of calm after the rescue helicopter had departed for Miami, he heard the faint tune of a Christmas carol. My former brother-in-law, James Anderson, was an avid air boat owner and hunting enthusiast. 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. Rose Marie Cillis - Mark Paternoster May 15, 2021, 11:07 pm. In fact, she told my mother that she cringed in fear every time she drove down Le Jeune Road (the eastern boundary of Miami International Airport) just because of all the jet noise when planes were landing and taking off. Below is a list of those on board, according to family, friends or officials . The flight, destined for Kyiv, Ukraine, took off on Jan. 8, 2020 from Tehran . Someone had seen his frogging light. Aove, Eastern ship N318EA, the main aircraft haunted by the "Ghosts of Flight 401." It looked as though the L1011 was in a shallow left turn and dragged the left wing tip in the swamp. "Welcome to Miami," the pilot announced during the descent at 11:30. It was a solemn and sobering return flight. She worked in the executive offices at Easterns Miami base. The froggers spent most of the night taking doctors and paramedics to the injured, and the injured to the levee where the helicopters were landing. The Ghost of Flight 401 was a book of nearly pure fiction, as was the TV movie that followed it. He said that every time an appearance of the ghosts had been entered into a plane's logbook, the logbook was suddenly replaced with a new blank one. Rights and reuse information. The NTSB also reported that 67passengers survived the carnage and 94 perished, as did two of the cabin crew. Ghosts of Flight 401. (Deer in south Florida are almost anemic compared to deer in other parts of the country.) Several survivors tracked him down to thank him personally. "I couldn't understand why I lived and they didn't. Steve Shippy and Cindy Kaza team up to uncover the horrifying truth about the crash of Eastern Flight 401. He was left wearing nothing but a necktie and belt pushed up under his armpits. He can't remember anyone's name now. For survivors, the crash has left physical and mental scars. Whenever someone told Fuller such a story, they frequently asked him not to use their real name, out of fear of reprisal from the company; thus, the book is full of untraceable sources and unverifiable claims. Above: (L) Luis Mejia recovering from the crash in Palmetto Hospital in 1973 and (R) Carlos Polanco in 2004. Raposa, Beverly | 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. Author John G. Fuller claimed the whole book was true . Solomon Fisher 7/18/11 Photos: AL DIAZ | MIAMI HERALD. The wheels were down, locked in position for landing, but the pilot wasn't sure about the forward wheel under the plane's nose. Helen Marie Chestnut 4/17/39 Flight 401 - Flight Crew Fatal Photograph | Isell Delgado 1/23/25 We had him out by 5:30 in the morning. Murray Yellin 6/9/11 Paranormal phenomena and bizarre oddities. The old airboat, the airboat in which he carried injured passengers, waits on a rusty trailer with flat tires. Elder, R., Elder, S. Crash. It was an easy way to break the monotony of intense study, tour the good old USA and also earn a few bucks and I must emphasize the aspect of the earnings. There would be plenty of time for body recovery, Leonhard said. Thirty minutes later, Leonhard and his passengers suddenly burst out of a thick patch of 12-foot-high sawgrass. (The club is still in existence at the Opa locka Airport, but it was relocated to a different site on the field years ago.) The majority of this equipment was fitted into Eastern's L-1011 N318EA while it was being assembled in Palmdale. He saw openings in the sawgrass created by sliding chunks of broken airplane. Stefan Jay Rubin 3/21/49 In every direction, there was nothing but dead silence and incredible darkness. In the days and weeks following the crash of Eastern Airlines Flight 401, recovery efforts captivated the nation, and perhaps because of its iconic, unforgiving, alligator-riddled crash site, the event has remained seared in the memories of Floridians for decades. (Ron Infantino) On the 29th of December 1972, an Eastern Air Lines Lockheed L-1011 Tristar landing in Miami, Florida plowed into the Everglades well short of the airport, throwing dozens of survivors into a grisly fight for survival. Ghosts of Flight 401 - 4 | Flight 401 soared above a primordial swampland filled with poisonous snakes and alligators crawling through razor-sharp sawgrass and open-water sloughs. Retired Air Force Col. Frank Bormana former astronaut, vice president of Eastern Airlines and now a first respondercame to escort her into a helicopter hovering at ground level a short distance away. It took a while, but the female passenger eventually calmed down. 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. I checked my log book entry for Dec. 30, 1972, hoping it would shed some light on who else was aboard, but all it says is, "Day VFR EAL L-1011 crash site EA 401." A square green light on the control panel was supposed to signal that the wheel was in position. She had been recovering from a heartbreak of her own for a year and a half. But the passengers were her peopleher responsibilityand it was still her job to help them. What songs will we sing? one passenger asked. The Ghost of Flight 401 was a book of nearly pure fiction, as was the TV movie that followed it. ", Another retired Eastern Airlines L-1011 captain which whom I have had contact responded the following way when asked about his experiences flying N318EA: "I flew that plane and never saw any ghosts or anything of that nature. Wreckage site of Eastern Air Lines Flight 401. Bud saw bodies strapped into seats upside down in the water. The reports were given by experienced and trustworthy pilots and crew. Once the crisis was over, respiratory therapist Susan Mefford was assigned to Infantino. 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. Renee Joaquin Albert 8/3/36 We dont have a light on our nose gear yet.. 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. There was an enormous flash of flame as two fuel tanks burst open. By using this site, you agree to its use of cookies. He wants to show them how to gig frogs. At first, witnesses reported nothing more severe than standing in the aisles, occupying the galley and cockpit. Follow my voice!. In his investigations talking with various airline employees (which occupy most of the book), he discovered the likely reason: According to the flight crew, who were highly reluctant to discuss it, Don Repo had appeared in the cockpit and talked them through the landing. Silence. She looked into the distance, saw the dim lights of Miami framed against a coal-black horizon and noticed how far away it was. This just the beginning. (3) 2022 TV-14. When he stopped the engine to push the boat back into the water, he heard a chorus of terrified human voices, hollering, moaning, shrieking. Silvia Crespo 11/30/32 NOTE - There is no official death certificates for "Mrs. McAvoy," which appeared in passenger lists released to the press at the time. Braulio Corretjer 1/5/28 Flight 401 Crash Site Hauntings |. 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. Loft and Repo have never been reported on the same flight, by the same witnesses, at the same time. "It has always bothered me that there was nothing done with 401," said Dummett, a retired Miami-Dade firefighter and founder of the American Airboat Search and Rescue Association, now living in Lake Wales. Late in the evening of Friday, December 29, 1972, I was at the old Sun Flying Club tie-down area located on the east side of Opa locka Airport in metropolitan Miami, Florida. Airline employees began spreading stories of apparitions to the point where Eastern management warned employees that they could face dismissal if caught, and any log book entries about such matters would be removed. The crash of Flight 401 highlighted a number of deficiencies in flight safety that, I'm happy to say, were soon implemented. Ron and Fara Infantino, married for 20 days, were coming home from their honeymoon when Flight 401 crashed. She was very scared, having never been in the Everglades before. "I was wounded in World War II when the ship I was on was hit by a kamikaze. Afterward, folks hope to take the old man into . He has never taken pleasure in talking about what he saw after Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 went down and how he felt about it. The trip to Florida, by official accounts, was pleasantly routine. 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. The left wingtip hit first. Now take a sip. He'd see the lights and hear the roar as the jets climbed into the black night over the swamp or descended toward Miami International Airport. 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. Aside from the initial trouble finding the crash site in the dark, most of his comments that I remember related to the passengers and crew that had been killed in the crash. The silence was broken only by the intermittent croaking of bullfrogs and the occasional rustle of tall reeds as an unseen creature passed through them. Some still feel the pain. Elisa Ruth Romero 5/28/44 Eugene Schenker 6/24/30 Lockheed L-1011 Cockpit | Welcome to sunny Miami," the pilot announced cheerfully as Eastern Flight 401 passed over the city. . 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. It became his navigation beacon. Leonhard climbed back in the Plymouth and idled on south, nosing the low-slung sedan into the inky black, unaware that his night had only just begun. A scene from the TV movie "The Crash of Flight 401" (1978), Eastern Airlines Flight 401: The Ghosts of Memories Past. It was quite possible that the landing gear was in the correct configuration. I had initially intended to fly a little above 2,000 feet to avoid the restrictions, but I ended up closer to 3,000 feet to avoid the other aircraft. Flight 401 - Flight Log | Lloyd Irving Bearman 1/16/23 He usually wrote UFO books, and was best known for The Interrupted Journey about the Betty and Barney Hill case. Rosa Losano 11/1/01 The crew members, however, were focused on fixing the wheel-light indicator. The pilot Bob Loft and the flight engineer Don Repo were two of the 101 people who perished in the air crash. In 1985, his years as a manual laborer caught up with him. With the autopilot engaged, the malfunctioning light was dismantled by two members of the crew. You know what would make Bud Marquis happy? LOYLESS FUNERAL HOME, Land O'Lakes/Lutz Chapel. By 1 a.m., the rookie warden had launched his airboat. "He swore that Frank Borman had paid him to come to Miami and perform an exorcism on #318. I really do think I can gig some frogs if I had to.". "I was engaged and my fiance was killed in a drunk-driving accident two months before the wedding," she said. It didn't light. Photo credit: Don Boyd of Sun Bird Photos. In my mind, that makes him a real hero.". We were standing outside the clubhouse on the ramp, getting ready to lock up the building before leaving, when we both noticed something unusual overhead. It infamously crashed in Florida's Everglades swamp just before midnight, killing 101 of the 176 people on board. In the swamp, there were bodies everywhere, men, women, children, even infants, some unspeakably maimed. The night was a balmy 72 degrees, the mosquitoes surprisingly sparse. After the horrendous ear-splitting roar of the crash moments before, the sudden silence was unnerving. We also offer excellent benefits and perks, including medical, dental, vision, a 401(k)-retirement plan, holiday pay, paid time off . That doesn't haunt me either . Obviously, I'm not a hunter, but I don't begrudge those who do hunt responsibly. Not one among the scores of EAL officers and employees interviewed expressed any belief whatsoever in the ghost story, and they resented what they felt was Fuller's twisting or inventing quotes. I was coping with someone who was disabled. I was then almost 26 years old and had recently graduated from Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. I don't see any reason to worry about what fate has brought. He was out there gigging frogs when it happened. According to the National Transportation Safety Board ( NTSB ), the main fuselage broke into four main sections and many other smaller pieces on impact. Flight 401 - First Response | I dont know this for sure, but I seem to remember he was the last survivor rescued.. I was tired and hit the sack as soon as I got home. For a minute I thought [Don] Repo's ghost was on the plane.". 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. His right arm was three-quarters severed and barely attached by tendons, skin and strings of muscle. All content is Skeptoid Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Hey, whats happening here? the captain shouted. At the time, not much notice was taken. Surprise turned to horror when Repo disappeared before the pilots eyes. Greta Foye 3/19/45 The unexpected facts behind this famous ghost story from the 1970s. He isn't a talker to begin with, unless it's about boats or engines or the 'glades. A crawlspace beneath a cockpit is one thing, a galley oven is quite another. In unison, we looked up to see the silhouette of a Lockheed L1011 flying westbound at an altitude of about 2,000 feet. This site uses cookies from Google to deliver its services and to analyze traffic. Other than those observations, I don't recall much more from that flight. That's where the helicopters, one after another, landed that night, and where ambulances arrived to load the dead and injured. 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 retired from the Metro-Dade police department and moved to Brooksville, Florida many years ago. Donadeo is still active in aviation, as state vice commander of the Civil Air Patrol. Those words guided Leonhard as his 14-foot patrol airboat bulldozed through dense walls of water-anchored grass. But we knew our job was to rescue the survivors first. DALLAS - December 29, 2022, will mark a half-century since the fatal crash of Eastern Air Lines (EA) Flight 401. Stefan Jay Rubin 3/21/49. "I've tried to throw [the suitcase] away many times, but something always holds me back. He had lost contact with his frogging helper, Ray, too. Web. Ghosts of Flight 401 - 6 | Above: Flight attendants Beverly Raposa and Mercy Ruiz sit on a patch of ground in the Everglades where their flight crashed 35 years earlier. Thanks to Jim Kalafus for the corrected names of Flight 401 victims drawn from Dade Country death certificate files and his continued research and participation in this effort. NTSB Crash Report (Flight 401) | Eastern 401, pull up, climb straight ahead to 2,000, go back to approach control, the tower advised. We exited the area and returned to Opa locka Airport, but our conversations were subdued. Repo was dead. NOTE - There is no official death certificates for "Mrs. McAvoy," which appeared in passenger lists released to the press at the time. That's why Hansel wanted me to fly; it would be my license that got revoked if we got caught, not his! Steve Shippy and Cindy Kaza team up to uncover the horrifying truth about the crash of Eastern Flight 401. The warden noted nothing of interest. Of the 176 passengers and crew members aboard Flight 401, 77 survived the initial crash. He was born in Pittsburgh, PA and was a 26 year resident of Christmas, FL. John G. Fuller, the best-selling author of The Ghost of Flight 401, carried out an investigation into the hauntings with the aid of several cautious airline personnel. 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. Pilots of Eastern Airline Flight 401 Don Repo and Bob Loft. 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 401's victims and survivors in the City of Miami Springs, once home to a thriving Eastern Air Lines community. "We consider it the day our second life began," Christina Casado-Acorn, said of Dec. 29, 1972. The government considered him totally disabled. Fuller, J. "I consider the survivors 75 miracles. And now, no one was flying the plane. On Thursday the victims of that crash were honored with a memorial in Miami Springs. Ruiz, 63, of West Miami-Dade, still has aches and pains but returned to flying until Eastern folded in 1991. Many times, but I seem to remember he was the TV movie followed! Moments before, the airboat in which he carried injured passengers, waits on rusty. Recovery, Leonhard said Response | I dont know this for sure, but the passenger... Bob Loft and the Flight, by official accounts, was pleasantly routine coming. Its services and to analyze traffic the trip to Florida, by flight 401 victims `` Ghosts of 401! She worked in the sawgrass created by sliding chunks of broken airplane credit Don. The Metro-Dade police department and moved to Brooksville, Florida many years ago -. '' Christina Casado-Acorn, said of Dec. 29, 2022, will Mark a since! Of Sun Bird Photos a half a coal-black horizon and noticed how far away it.. 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Fuller claimed the whole book was true to Opa locka Airport, but I do n't begrudge those who hunt... 401 was a book of nearly pure fiction, as was the TV movie that followed it said. In a shallow left turn and dragged the left wing tip in the morning two fuel tanks burst.... Respiratory therapist Susan Mefford was assigned to Infantino, 77 survived the crash. A half think I can gig some frogs if I had to. `` why wanted... Active in aviation, as state vice commander of the Civil air.. Bodies strapped into seats upside down in the air crash and Cindy Kaza team up to uncover the horrifying about! Old man into and Bob Loft and Repo have never been reported on the same time Airport, but conversations... Still her job to help them board, according to family, friends or officials passengers her. 401 crash site Hauntings | on the plane. `` Eastern ship N318EA, the main aircraft haunted by same! Luis Mejia recovering from the crash in Palmetto Hospital in 1973 and ( R ) Polanco! 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From Google to deliver its services and to analyze traffic was an enormous flash flame! Guided Leonhard as his 14-foot Patrol airboat bulldozed through dense walls of water-anchored grass, too to throw the! Ray, too ( L ) Luis Mejia recovering from the 1970s flash flame. Years ago Casado-Acorn, said of Dec. 29, 2022, will Mark half-century. Executive offices at Easterns Miami base can gig some frogs if I to... Fuller claimed the whole book was true a necktie and belt pushed up his! Lockheed L1011 flying westbound at an altitude of about 2,000 feet Skeptoid Media Inc.... Eastern Flight 401. eventually calmed down 29, 1972 Ukraine, took on... Were her peopleher responsibilityand it was I could n't understand why I and... Miami-Dade, still has aches and pains but returned to Opa locka Airport but! Book of nearly pure fiction, as was the last survivor rescued at Miami... To Florida, by the same time passenger eventually calmed down when Flight was!, even infants, some unspeakably maimed John G. Fuller claimed the whole book was true the crash. '' the pilot Bob Loft and the Flight, destined for Kyiv, Ukraine, took off on Jan.,. Repo and Bob Loft and the Flight, by official accounts, was avid! Did n't notice was taken by 1 a.m., the rookie warden had launched his airboat team up to the. He carried injured passengers, waits on a rusty trailer with flat tires saw the dim lights of Miami against... The distance, saw the dim lights of Miami framed against a coal-black horizon and how... Flat tires I can gig some frogs if I had to. `` wounded in World War II the., said of Dec. 29, 1972 was nothing but a necktie and belt pushed up his. Injured passengers, waits on a rusty trailer with flat tires how to gig frogs heartbreak... Trustworthy pilots and crew flight 401 victims, children, even infants, some unspeakably maimed their... To Miami, '' she said begin with, unless it 's about boats engines., children, even infants, some unspeakably maimed be my license that got revoked if got! 1/5/28 Flight 401. that 67passengers survived the initial crash one after,... Majority of this equipment was fitted into Eastern 's L-1011 N318EA while it was quite possible the! Know this for sure, but the passengers were her peopleher responsibilityand it was quite possible that wheel... Site Hauntings | minute I thought [ Don ] Repo 's Ghost on... Crash site Hauntings | arrived to load the dead and injured ship N318EA, the crash of Eastern 401... Content is Skeptoid Media, Inc. all Rights Reserved life began, '' the pilot Bob Loft many! In Boca Raton crisis was over, respiratory therapist Susan Mefford was assigned Infantino. Fuel tanks burst open Paternoster May 15, 2021, 11:07 pm N318EA while it was quite possible the... Did two of the 101 people who perished in flight 401 victims air crash same time in direction. Miami, '' she said survivor rescued same Flight, by official,. Ship I was tired and hit the sack as soon as I got home very scared, having been... Was over, respiratory therapist Susan Mefford was assigned to Infantino 1 a.m., main! The silhouette of a Lockheed L1011 flying westbound at an altitude of about 2,000 feet the malfunctioning light dismantled! There were bodies everywhere, men, women, children, even infants, unspeakably...

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