eastern air lines flight 401 survivors

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. Based in Dubai, Photo: Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives, Eastern Airlines Flight 401: A Cabin Crew Perspective, Avelo Air Seeing Strong Bookings For New Wilmington Base, Another JFK Incident: JetBlue Airbus A321 Bumps Into Parked Plane, European Airlines Plan To Hit Back At Short-Haul Flight Bans, The Rules & Regulations That Dictate The Hours That Cabin Crew Can Work, Bouncing Back: Libya To Hold Its First Aviation Forum This Weekend. The tragedy was also the 2nd deadliest plane crash in US history at the time, although, today, it now ranks in 16th place. Seventy five people survived. I said, 'I know what you're going through because I lost somebody too.' Raposa was one of 75 survivors. "What saved my life was chute on that dooractually on impact it inflated, she recalled. Its closure; its been a long time coming, she said. "They put me in a helicopter and I'll never forget they gave me a warm blanket," he said. Dawn Quinn's grandfather was pilot Robert Loft. Infantino and the flight attendants will meet with airline experts and the public to tell them never to become complacent. Oh, Mercy, stop complaining, Ghyssels responded. 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. Infantino, around the time of his wedding, had completed an aptitude test, sent in his rsum and applied for a job as a pilot at Eastern Airlines. This month represents the 50th anniversary of the crash of Eastern Air Lines Flight 401, which crashed into the Florida Everglades in December 1972. Anyone interested in attending should email flt401memorial@gmail.com. Click on contribute in the blue box in the right column of the home page. Washington, DC 20006, Online Donations can be made at www.PlaneSafe.org. Robert Loft, 55; First Officer Albert Stockstill, 39, and Second Officer Donald Repo, 51, all of Miami-Dade. In other words, more building space. Seconds later, the plane crashed into the ground at 227 mph. The survivors were taken to a narrow levee where helicopters took them to hospitals. He called the airline from his hospital room and explained that he had survived the recent crash and was still recovering. She encouraged them to sing Christmas carols . The group will also try to raise funds for a memorial to honor those who died. 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. That also gave me an impression like the two girls were marked, Ruiz said. Beverly had gathered survivors together, seating them back to back to stay warm. Amid the confusion, the distracted crew didnt notice the auto pilot button was switched off. The scene of the wreckage of Eastern Airlines Flight 401 in the Everglades west of Miami International Airport. At one point he noticed that his right arm didn't seem right. And he is delighted he will get to dine more often at one of his favorite restaurants, Kamiko Sushi Bar in Doral. While Flight 401 came with intense loss, Ruiz emphasized that it spurred many significant safety developments in the aviation industry, from the advent of cockpit resource management (CRM) to the adoption of ground proximity warning system (GPWS) devices in commercial airliners. 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. 103 passengers and crew members died in the crash or shortly thereafter and 75 passengers/crew survived. Omar is a bilingual and bicultural journalist, covering breaking news in South Florida for the Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald. The Ghost of Flight 401: Directed by Steven Hilliard Stern. In November 2022, Airways interviewed former flight attendants Beverly Raposa and Mercy Ruiz to understand their perspectives as survivors of the crash. The disaster took the lives Patricia McQuigg, Beverly Raposa, and Mercy Ruiz joined Infantino this week at a program to teach airline experts and passengers the lessons learned from a dark night in the Everglades. Dawn Quinn, 59, the granddaughter of flight 401 Captain Robert A. Loft, said she was 9 years old when she heard that her grandfathers plane had crashed. /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 . After the Tristar crashed into the Everglades, Ruiz said that Raposa, Left me laying down in a safe place, very cold and everything, but she made me as comfortable as possible. In his first public comments since his highly publicized move from Atlanta United, Martinez told the Herald that his girlfriend, two-month-old son, and more than half his friends live in Doral. It was the first fatal crash involving not only the Lockheed TriStar, but, indeed, a widebody aircraft of any kind. "Preoccupation with a malfunction of the nose landing gear position indicating system distracted the crew's attention from the instruments and allowed the descent to go unnoticed," it continued. Ruiz said that the public should understand that the job of a flight attendant is highly professional before emphasizing that we are highly trained and our main focus when we are hired and trained is safety. Ruiz and Raposa both emphasized their confidence in the safety of air travel. Eastern Airlines Flight 401 - Crash Investigation, Findings and Passenger List . ", But he was worried about Lilly. Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 was a scheduled flight from New York JFK to Miami.Shortly before midnight on December 29, 1972, the Lockheed L-1011-1 TriStar crashed into the Florida Everglades, causing 101 total fatalities. Nichole Shackleford, 53, was just 3 years old when she lost her mother, passenger Patricia Renee Shackleford, 20, in the crash. The latest local, regional and national news events are presented by the Local 10 News Team along with updated sports, weather and traffic. He couldn't move. He reportedly then said, "Watch out for fire in this plane.". Just before the plane hit, First Officer Albert Stockstill noticed the low altitude and told Loft about it. "They'll never be forgotten.". Eastern Airlines, mistakenly believing they . Beverly Raposa was a bubbly, 25-year-old flight attendant onboard Eastern Airlines Flight 401 from New York to Miami when the plane slammed into the Everglades at 225 miles per hour near midnight . Those still in a sufficiently usable state were used again on the Eastern Air Lines fleet. "I hear this voice scream out in the Everglades," he said. The idea for a memorial for Eastern Flight 401 first popped up at the 35th anniversary gathering in the Everglades. Another time, a captain was asked to check on a passenger in first class who was in a pilot's uniform. All Rights Reserved , Southwest Pilots Association President Calls for Strike Vote, Iberia, TAG Airlines to Start Codeshare Agreement, Delta Air Lines Firms Order for 12 Additional A220s, Lufthansa Submits Offer to Acquire a Stake in ITA Airways, Airways Top 10 Never-built Commercial Aircraft, 12/11/1996: Oasis International Airlines Ceases Operations, Air Baltic Becomes First European Airline to Offer, Emirates Returns First Refurbished A380 to Service, FAA Issues National Ground Stop for Florida Airports. He has a masters degree in journalism from the University of Texas at Austin and a bachelors degree in education from the Universidad de Puerto Rico en Ro Piedras. According to a National Transportation Safety Board report, the pilots placed the landing gear handle down but noticed the green light that indicates that the nose landing gear is fully extended and locked failed to illuminate. The Memorial is along the Curtiss Parkway median directly across from the driving range. This is somewhere where I can come to visit her apart from her gravesite, Shackleford said. Before ValuJet there was Eastern Flight 401. Raposa emphasized that she feels safer up there. Raposa concluded that 50 years beyond the crash, survivors and supporters still carry the victims of Flight 401 in their hearts. According to DeWitt, the monument also represents how through a terrible tragedy in Flight 401, the industry eventually put safety first in many ways.. 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. Beverly replied, 'No Mercy, we're down.' The plane plunged into the Everglades after taking off from the Miami airport. I know how much you miss me, and I miss you too. The video below recounts the moment by moment incident that led to the crash as well as interviews with some of the survivors and witnesses. READ MORE: Were down. Flight 401 crashed in Miami 50 years ago. And then she started walking away, trying to help people. Aviation consultant Bennie Benitez said there were many positive safety elements that came out of 401, like flash lights on all planes. The aircraft was a Lockheed L-1011-1 TriStar traveling from New York to Miami. "Where's my right arm, why's my right arm so far away from my body? What happened with ValuJet. Eastern Flight 401, a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar, remains the worst aviation accident in Florida history. Eastern Air Lines Flight 401, another Eastern Airlines CFIT . Both pilots and the flight engineer died, along with 2 out of 10 flight attendants and 96 of the 163 passengers on board. He opened the trap door to see a vision of Don looking at him, which then promptly disappeared. 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. From this accident, crew resource management was brought into pilot and cabin crew training to improve communication onboard. Today's story is one of tragedy, of course, but it's also one of heroism and bravery. The incident occurred on September 11, 1974, killing 72 of the 82 people on board. One minute, he was resting in his seat with his arms folded. "We would love to have a home or memorial for ourselves we can't get anybody to help us.". She found Beverly and commented 'it's a bad dream, we are going to wake up.' "I said, 'Oh my god we crashed, we crashed.' 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 people . Raposa added that Flight 401 has also been widely incorporated into safety training for pilots and flight attendants. Its a bad dream. While the crash has inspired two feature-length movies and numerous documentaries and training films, there is no permanent memorial for Eastern Flight 401. See the coverage as it happened. We consider them significant. However, 75 people did survive the crash. He wasnt rescued until four or five hours later, he remembers reading in his hospital records. All are South Florida survivors of the crash of Eastern Flight #401 now trying . 2022 Miami Herald. Anyone wishing to donate can write a check payable to the National Air Disaster Foundation or donate online. She freed herself, then went to work saving others. No, they dont, Raposa, now 75, recalls telling Stanich. Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 was a Lockheed L-1011-1 Tristar jet that crashed into the Florida Everglades at 11:42 pm December 29, 1972, causing 101 fatalities (99 initial crash fatalities, two died shortly afterward). He says he thinks about the crash every day and it has defined the way he looks at life. After the impact the aircraft disintegrated, scattering wreckage over an area approximately 1,600 feet long and 300 feet wide. Beverly has often wondered how she survived how anyone survived. Hardly anyone has stopped by in 35 years to discuss the crash. There were also reports of Bob having been seen doing his pre-flight checks of the aircraft and telling the ground staff he'd already completed them. We reach over 20,000 people each month. The list of passengers who perished on Eastern Airlines flight EA401 and honored on the Memorial are: The list of pilots who perished on Eastern Airlines flight EA401 are: The flight attendants who perished on the flight are: Fortunately, there were 75 survivors during that horrible tragedy of late 1972. One hundred and one lives were lost that late December evening, with 75 passengers and crew . / CBS Miami. It happened 40 years ago today on a cold dark night in the Everglades, a brand new "Whisperliner" jumbo jet crashed in the swamp, killing 101. 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. Those were the last words recovered from the flight voice recorder. said Stockstill. Passengers, cabin crew, Pilots, Flight Engineers, even top airline executives, all claimed to have seen 'something' while travelling on some Eastern Airlines aircraft. Give or take a word, the announcement is remembered verbatim by virtually every survivor. He did not survive, but his memory lives on. READ MORE: Eastern Flight 401 introduced new safety measures and books, movies and ghost stories. They were Stanich and Ghyssels, the two flight attendants who died in the crash. In another part of the Everglades, flight attendant Mercy Ruiz shivered, her body soaked in kerosene. The ceremony will take place on Thursday, December 29, 2022, at 1pm on Curtiss Parkway, near the Miami Springs Golf Course. MiamiSprings.com is the #1 source for news and events for the Miami Springs and Virginia Gardens community. Raposa said she has flown for over 20 years for business, saying she sleeps like a baby every time she flies. She and Marquis would be remembered as two of the heroes from that night. Flight 401, a new L-1011 TriStar, took off from Kennedy International Airport in New York at 9:20 p.m. on Dec. 29, 1972. She noticed that the engines sounded different, and the aircraft jolted. He read a poem in her honor from her perspective as if she were speaking to him from the heavens above. Ruiz was 28 years old and had been working as a flight attendant for less than three years when the plane went down. (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. It is open to the public. A ball of fire erupted in the cabin and the aircraft cartwheeled and broke into pieces. Three of the 4 cockpit crew members, two of the 10 flight attendants, and 96 of the 163 passengers were killed; there were 75 survivors. By the time they did, it was already too late to recover. "I asked, 'Where's my wife?' Tomorrow is not a given, she said. Copyright 2023 Local10.com is published by WPLG INC., a Berkshire Hathaway company. Copies of that photo are now bound in a leather album that Eastern gave all the flight attendants of Flight 401 after the tragedy. Fundraising was a challenge, but Raposa said radio appearances and the support of former Eastern Air Lines employees bolstered efforts. The flight had been uneventful until the Lockheed L-1011 jet was making its approach to MIA. "The NTSB, when they studied it, they said this crash was unsurvivable, yet 75 miracles came out of there.". Forty-five years ago, when Officer Gray Leonhard of the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission began a solo night patrol in the Everglades, he was on the lookout for poachers, drug smugglers and maybe even a bullet-riddled corpse. The precious love we shared means we are never far apart, Infantino said. She went on to praise the efforts of Raposa, who sang Christmas carols to maintain morale among survivors as they waited for rescue. In the days following the crash, Infantinos mother brought him a pile of mail. He had 8,876 flight hours, including 3,856 hours on the DC-9. The U.S. Coast Guard had been quickly notified by the tower at MIA and had helicopters airborne almost immediately from their station in Opa-locka. Beverly also injured her back and cut her foot but managed to crawl out of the swamp. Its just special to me that we are remembering all the people who lost their lives, Quinn said. "They're home," Beverly said. Organizers are still seeking donations to cover the cost of the memorial, a bill that stands at about $20,000. There were 75 survivors. Please review this photograph closely. Definition: Here is something interesting that we discovered during our research. It also marked the first the first jumbo jet to crash. The Story Of Eastern Air Lines Flight 401. "The reports were given by experienced and trustworthy pilots and crew. Checks can be made payable to: National Air Disaster Foundation There's so many good things, positive things came out of Flight 401, that this plane crash can never happen again with all the safety features put on it, said Infantino. A keen amateur photographer, he also recently reached the milestone of flying his 100th sector as a passenger. Writer - Patricia joins Simple Flying with over 20 years of experience in aviation. The airline still wanted to interview him for an opening that he could start after his health improved. A well-known fatal accident recounted from surviving cabin crew. Almost 40 years ago, Eastern Airlines flight 401 crashed. The crash of Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 41 years ago Sunday, the first crash of a widebody aircraft and, at the time, the second deadliest single-aircraft disaster in the U.S., led to wide-ranging changes in on board safety that continue to positively affect air travel today. 2023 Endeavor Business Media, LLC. Local 10: Eastern Flight 401: A survivor's story; Flamingo Magazine: Flight 401 Down in the Glades; Read the Story! Flight 401 - Flight Crew Fatal Photograph. Raposa, who worked in a travel agency after leaving Eastern, reminds herself to not leave the house angry and to tell her loved ones how much she cares for them because returning is never a guarantee. "My god, you're here, please don't leave me," he remembers telling them. He wanted to look further and reportedly found a problem that could have caused a serious accident. Sign up for NBC South Florida newsletters. READ MORE: Eastern Flight 401 introduced new safety measures and books, movies and ghost stories. Raposa would spend the next grueling hours fighting for those who survived the crash of Eastern Airlines Flight 401. My arm was hanging there. https://new.miamisprings.com/images/news/pool-capture.jpg. I try to do that but I'm human so it doesn't always work out.". Then came the final and fatal mistake. . Less pool space. 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. He had bad sawgrass cuts all over his face. Shelley and Steve Rubin and their unborn baby boy - Sandy Shapiro December 30, 2020 . All rights reserved, WATCH LIVE: Small Plane Makes Emergency Landing on Roadway in Western Broward. Ron Infantino is a passenger who survived the tragedy. The flight path of Eastern Airlines Flight 401 in its final moments. The next, he was covered in water up to his chin. She called two of her fellow crew members in to witness what she had seen. In a June 1973 report NTSB investigators said it was possible that the altitude hold function on the autopilot was accidentally disengaged, causing the plane to gradually descend from the 2,000-foot altitude. On December 29, 1972, Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 crashes into the Florida Everglades, resulting in 101 fatalities. A desperate search and rescue effort began almost immediately. one of the deadliest plane crashes in South Floridas history, Were down. Flight 401 crashed in Miami 50 years ago. They described Renee, as they called her, as adventurous, smart, outspoken and a woman who was ahead of her time. But doctors were able to reattach his arm. Remembering EAL Flt. "On the wreath I put, 'To our fellow brothers and sisters, in loving memory.' Airboats represent a certain degree of sentimental value for survivors of Flight 401. As frog hunters who witnessed the crash helped rescue survivors, Raposa led those remaining in renditions of Jingle Bells, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman. The last group was rescued at 3:30 a.m. Dec. 30, almost four hours after the crash. The 75-year-old woman, who was 25 at the time, was given a standing ovation for spearheading the efforts to build the memorial, located on the grassy median of the Curtiss Parkway and across from the Miami Springs Golf and Country Club. She came back and said, Mercy, I cant. She couldnt see.. But no one could hear Infantino yelling for help. - Flight Safety Foundation. Her face was burnt, but the coolness of the swamp seemed a relief. Woman, 66, has been missing for weeks, Miami cops say, Date night: Ivanka Trump posts picture with Jared Kushner at this Miami hot spot, Miami to Palm Beach lawyers email trouble, aggravated battery, fighting disbarment, DeSantis appoints a Lourdes Academy staffer to the Miami-Dade School Board, Former state Rep. Grieco should have law license temporarily suspended, report says, A Coral Gables attorney suspended in 2020, disbarred in 2022 wants to be back by July, Suspect arrested after Miami gas station clerk is stabbed multiple times. Raposa said a turning point came when supporter Shannon DeWitt offered to help coordinate fundraising and construction efforts for a monument, a pivot from the original idea of a tribute. The flight started in New York. It was all wet, but it felt good just to have something on me.". Eastern employees visited Infantino for a two-hour interview. 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 people and leading to the implementation of several aviation safety measures. The crash killed 101 people, including Stanich. Two days into recovery his dad came into his hospital room. And the aircraft gradually descended into the mushy swamp from 20,000 feet. How could this have happened? Tell people you love them. We'll probably never know. The granite monument, installed just north of the Miami International Airport, now serves as a permanent tribute to those who died when the Miami-bound Eastern Air Lines flight 401 crashed in the . Promptly disappeared mushy swamp from 20,000 feet Parkway median directly across from Flight... 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