eastern air lines flight 401 survivors

The Lockheed L-1011 crashed into the Florida Everglades. She was dazed and disoriented but noticed a penlight flashing nearby. "It save me from the 400 pounds of debris that was falling on me," she said. The flight attendants who perished on the flight are: Patricia A. Ghyssels; Stephanie Rae Stanich; Eastern Airlines Flight EA401 Memorial in Miami Springs honors the 101 souls who perished on December 29, 1972 SURVIVORS OF EASTERN AIRLINES FLIGHT 401. 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). Fundraising was a challenge, but Raposa said radio appearances and the support of former Eastern Air Lines employees bolstered efforts. 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. The monument, Ruiz said, represents the thoughts, the prayers, and all the efforts involved in refusing to forget each and every one of the victims. The names of each person who perished on Flight 401 will be engraved on the granite monument. (Photo by Steve Starr/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images), Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. Eastern Air Lines Flight 401: 28 May 2008 () On 29 December 1972, Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 is on a flight to Miami International Airport. 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. Although not in your arms, Im always in your heart. Pin. The experienced flight crew was distracted when the landing gear light failed to come on, which they believed was caused by a blown bulb. 2022 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. She went on to praise the efforts of Raposa, who sang Christmas carols to maintain morale among survivors as they waited for rescue. A keen amateur photographer, he also recently reached the milestone of flying his 100th sector as a passenger. Those still in a sufficiently usable state were used again on the Eastern Air Lines fleet. In other words, more building space. The jumbo jet had been making a late evening flight from New York to Miami. - Flight Safety Foundation. "They were screaming, next thing I knew it, the overhead luggage was flying all over the place and the lights were going on and off like crazy. The plane plunged into the Everglades after taking off from the Miami airport. Eastern Flight 401, a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar, remains the worst aviation accident in Florida history. Flight Capt. Fourteen people suffered burns, while 17 had only minor injuries and didn't need to be hospitalized, the NTSB report said. They didn't find her body until two days later," he said. The plane was crossing over the Everglades on Dec. 29, 1972, when she turned to fellow flight attendant Stephanie Stanich. "I can't see it, it's pitch dark and I throw the little light, I get, ah, nothing," the second officer said, according to the report. I think about her every day.. Just before the plane hit, First Officer Albert Stockstill noticed the low altitude and told Loft about it. Beverly had gathered survivors together, seating them back to back to stay warm. "We're still at 2,000 feet, right?" Then I knew how bad I was.". He was so weak that doctors opted to operate without anesthesia. The plane descended out of the sky as pilots were distracted over a landing gear warning light. The precious love we shared means we are never far apart, Infantino said. "Ah, tower this is Eastern, ah, four zero one, it looks like we're gonna have to circle, we don't have a light on our nose gear yet," the pilot told the control tower at MIA. However, the indicator light failed to show that the landing gear was locked down. He read a poem in her honor from her perspective as if she were speaking to him from the heavens above. "You couldn't even say goodbye to each other, that's how fast it happened, said crash survivor Ron Infantino, whose wife Lily died in the crash. On the returning flight, an engine failed and had to be shut down before it caught fire. 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. So when Im stuck in traffic, I say, Ron, What number is this? The crash spawned a number of books, films and other media, along with legends of ghost signtings involving crew members who were killed. "It went completely dark so I knew we were doing another go-round, not knowing what was going on," he said. The investigation into the crash took months. Infantino started a commuter airline of his own, which later folded, and got married to his respiratory therapist, who also experienced heartbreak after losing her fianc in a drunk-driving accident. The crash of Eastern Flight 401. Eastern Air Lines flight 401 encountered no problems while cruising between the two cities. He had bad sawgrass cuts all over his face. Who could this have been? We're trying to build a memorial out there to try to honor that not only the survivals but the ones who died, ron "Next thing I knew, we hit the left wing tip first, everything out of the overheads flew over. "The reports were given by experienced and trustworthy pilots and crew. Seventy five people survived. Miami, Florida: Bankrupt Eastern Airlines Jets On The Ground. "They're home," Beverly said. . Beverly saw a sea of colors before being knocked out. Survivors: 10: Eastern Air Lines Flight 212 was a controlled flight into terrain accident of a McDonnell Douglas DC-9 during approach to Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina. Raposa had found her. Naked in the cold water, surrounded by tall sawgrass, he heard an airboat. But no one could hear Infantino yelling for help. He had 8,876 flight hours, including 3,856 hours on the DC-9. 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 . The pilots engaged the autopilot so they could inspect the light and the landing gear but the darkness apparently made it hard to see. At that moment Infantino was resting in his seat. The crash, another seminal moment in South Florida aviation history, killed all 110 people on board. Former flight attendant Beverly Raposa, one of 75 people who survived after the plane crashed with 176 people on board, said that she has never forgotten the passengers and crew members who died. And never go out of the house angry. Survivors will unveil a memorial marker on a grassy median of Curtiss Parkway in Miami Springs, across from the country club, on Dec. 29, the anniversary of the crash. Total construction cost: $5 MILLION. 401 JFK-MIA Dec. 29, 1972. The group wanted to balance their pose, so they stood in two lines of four with one of the flight attendants stretching out over the top of a closet. In the hospital he learned just how bad off he was. All of the bodies were recovered, 99 perished that night, two more would die from their injuries. He opened the trap door to see a vision of Don looking at him, which then promptly disappeared. The 76-year-old said his wife of 20 days, Lilly Infantino, died in the crash. "I'll be reading names," he said, "and after each name a candle will be lit until 101 candles are lit.". The cockpit crew, scrambling to identify the problem, got permission from air traffic control to circle the Everglades. The flight path of Eastern Airlines Flight 401 in its final moments. Earlier this year, Simple Flying took a look at the eight most intriguing examples. The couple had two sons. Marquis would work tirelessly throughout the night and the next day rescuing people. Checks can be made payable to: National Air Disaster Foundation We also informed you that much of the money was going into creating more buildings. Infantino, then 26, awoke bobbing in the swamp, unable to move with an injured arm, chest and knee. She found Beverly and commented 'it's a bad dream, we are going to wake up.' 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. Eastern employees visited Infantino for a two-hour interview. Located just across from the Miami Springs Country Club, survivors and families hope this memorial brings comfort 5 decades later. In the cockpit: Capt. Shortly before the scheduled landing at about 11:30 that night, Lilly went to the restroom and when she came back they switched seats. Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 was a Lockheed L-1011 Tristar 1 jet that crashed into the Florida Everglades on the night of December 29, 1972, causing 101 fatalities (77 initial crash survivors, two died shortly afterward). A desperate search and rescue effort began almost immediately. 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 . Five years ago, Raposa revived the idea and got approval to place it on a plot of public land in Miami Springs. READ MORE: The day when an Eastern Airlines jet crashed into the Florida Everglades. Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 traveled from New York to Miami. He would later learn the voice came from flight attendant Beverly Raposa, who would later lead survivors in Christmas carols to try to keep their spirits up in the cold night. Mysteriously, the log books started to go missing from the aircraft. 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 . 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 . "I got a call from a mother whose son was killed on Valujet 592 and she said how much she appreciates us having a wreath for them," said Infantino, choking up. Two days into recovery his dad came into his hospital room. Infantino and other survivors are holding a memorial service today at 4 p.m. at the site of the Valujet Flight 592 memorial, on the Tamiami Trail, 12 miles west of Krome Avenue. Raposa was one of 75 survivors. Its a bad dream. At the start of 2022, Raposa remembered her promise to honor those who lost their lives on the flight. "She yelled, 'Don't anybody light any matches in the Everglades,' which was smart because of all the jet fuel.". Based in Norwich, UK. That memory never goes away, he told the Miami Herald 50 years later. Photo: Jon Proctor Collection. As the aircraft circled over the Florida Everglades, the flight crew were fixated on whether the landing gear was, in fact, down and the indicator light was faulty. 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. They were exhausted. On December 29, 1972, Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 crashes into the Florida Everglades, resulting in 101 fatalities. Anyone wishing to donate can write a check payable to the National Air Disaster Foundation or donate online. Pieces of the aircraft scattered across the sawgrass. Soon passengers and crew on those aircraft report seeing what they believe to be the ghost of the . There were 75 survivors, including a 23-year-old flight . Definition: Here is something interesting that we discovered during our research. His arm was hanging by a thread; the cold swamp water may have saved his life by coagulating the blood. Beverly has often wondered how she survived how anyone survived. Ann Connell, Barry Connell, Angelo Donadeo, Patricia R Georgia, Adrianne Ann Hamilton, Jennifer Larsen, Thomas Mulcahy, Mercedes V Ruiz, Beverly Jean Raposa, Trudy J Smith, Sue F. Tibbs, Sharon R Transue, Dorothy M Warnock. They were working all night with gear on the boots in the swamp and the mud.". Only nine smiling faces appear because one volunteered to take the photo. Please review this photograph closely. The monument will be located on the grassy median of the 700 block of Curtis Parkway in Miami Springs, Florida, just opposite the Miami Springs Golf and Country Club driving range. This week, there will be a special commemoration of the new monument on Curtiss Parkway in memory of the 101 souls lost fifty years ago on Eastern Airlines Flight 401. Meanwhile, a flight attendant on a New York to Miami flight (the very route of the December 1972 crash) opened an overhead locker to find Bob's face peering out at her. Both would die in the crash. Mercedes was thrown from the aircraft, still trapped in her jump seat with injuries to her head and a broken pelvis. Sign up for NBC South Florida newsletters. "I remember hitting, I woke up and I was in a sitting position water up to my chin, no clothes on, everything was stripped right off me except the rims of my socks," said Infantino. Were gonna wake up.. (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. "I said, 'Please don't leave me here alone, I'm so cold,'" he remembers pleading with her. The plane's capacity . She recalls the terrifying moments afterward. Eastern Airlines Flight 401 was one of South Floridas deadliest airline disasters. She came across a woman who found an 11-month-old baby as she scouted the wreckage for her son. 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. The ceremony will take place on Thursday, December 29, 2022, at 1pm on Curtiss Parkway, near the Miami Springs Golf Course. It helps me put life in perspective, you see.". The City of Miami Springs, Raposa emphasized, provided intense, intense support with the involvement of the mayor, the city manager, and the municipal public relations team. Ruiz was 28 years old and had been working as a flight attendant for less than three years when the plane went down. "I was leaning back, my eyes half closed, and all the sudden I hear the engines go to full power," he said. The aircraft was delivered to Eastern Air Lines on 30 January 1969. Beverly Raposa a survior of Eastern Flight 401 29th December 1972 crash of an L-1011, tail number N310EA explains her experience We reach over 20,000 people each month. MIAMI - Thursday marks 50 years since Eastern Airlines Flight 401 crashed into the Florida Everglades. The captain was 49-year-old James Edward Reeves, who had been with Eastern Air Lines since 1956. Here today, we hope that everyone, myself included, will find peace with this memorial monument.. 75. Multiple Emmy award winning journalist Ted Scouten has been the familiar face at the scene of international stories that have affected South Florida since 1998. Her mothers sister, Sharon Shackleford, 73, and best friend, Angel Sears, 70, were also in attendance. Washington, DC 20006, Online Donations can be made at www.PlaneSafe.org. Writer - Patricia joins Simple Flying with over 20 years of experience in aviation. 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. Crash: Directed by Barry Shear. It happened 40 years ago today on a cold dark night in the Everglades, a brand new "Whisperliner" jumbo jet . Oh, Mercy, stop complaining, Ghyssels responded. The next, he was covered in water up to his chin. "Hey, what's happening here?" And the aircraft gradually descended into the mushy swamp from 20,000 feet. Give or take a word, the announcement is remembered verbatim by virtually every survivor. Her message on life: Never take anything for granted. READ MORE: Eastern Flight 401 introduced new safety measures and books, movies and ghost stories. If were a little late, its overtime.. But it also crept into popular culture through . The idea for a memorial for Eastern Flight 401 first popped up at the 35th anniversary gathering in the Everglades. Josef El Rey Martinez was officially introduced as the newest member of Inter Miami on Wednesday morning, but the Venezuelan forward and former MLS MVP is hardly a newcomer to South Florida. Tell people you love them. 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. On duty that day was also Stephanie Stanich, Trudy Smith, Sharon Transue, Beverly Rapoza and Dorothy Warnock. Infantino looks back on the crash when hes frustrated about the inconveniences he faces in his daily life. With the 50th anniversary comes an opportunity for remembrance and reflection, to honor the lives lost and contemplate the tremendous improvements in aviation safety that followed the accident. The crash killed 101 people, including Stanich. A group of survivors drafted plans for a marker, but life got in the way. She noticed that the engines sounded different, and the aircraft jolted. Eastern Airlines Flight 401 was one of South Florida's deadliest airline disasters. 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. Aviation consultant Bennie Benitez said there were many positive safety elements that came out of 401, like flash lights on all planes. We just hit,' she said. The crash of Eastern Airlines Flight 401, along with other major air disasters around the same time, eventually led to a number of aircraft safety enhancements, including crew resource management, which has procedures for decision making in cockpits to try to eliminate human error. READ MORE: Eastern Flight 401 introduced new safety measures and books, movies and ghost stories. Since the flight was full, he exercised his privilege as an Eastern Airlines employee, and rode in the cockpit jumpseat. Expand All . 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. The flight started in New York. The aircraft assigned to Eastern Airlines Flight 401 that December 29th was an L-1011 from Lockheed, often referred to as a Whisperliner due to its quiet engines. . Edit. In the 1970's, tales of such ghostly apparitions flew around the USA and the airline world. Of the 163 passengers and 13 crewmembers aboard, 94 passengers and five crewmembers were killed, while two other survivors died days later from their injuries. The disaster took the lives 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. The Lockheed L-1011 was the pride of the Eastern fleet and the first of a new generation of wide-body jumbo jets to crash. It happened just west of Miami International Airport. Although not in your arms, Im always in your heart. Ruiz continued her career as a flight attendant, flying for both EA and United (UA) in the years following Flight 401. Now, survivors are planning the first memorial marker. Controllers gave their OK and told the crew to maintain an altitude of 2,000 feet, as the plane, which had been over the airport turned back over the Everglades. 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. She has served as cabin crew on flights from economy-class to private jets. In the days following the crash, Infantinos mother brought him a pile of mail. Before ValuJet there was Eastern Flight 401. This month represents the 50th anniversary of the crash of Eastern Air Lines Flight 401, which crashed into the Florida Everglades in December 1972. Its not a 10. . Seconds later, the plane crashed into the ground at 227 mph. Mercy Ruiz, 75, a survivor and former flight attendant, told the Miami Herald that the solemn event felt like a graduation a gratifying ending to months of working side-by-side with Raposa to make the memorial a reality. 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. Eastern Airlines Flight 401 crashed into the Everglades on a moonless night on December 29, 1972. Featured Image: Eastern Airlines Lockheed L1011 N310EA, the airframe involved in flight 401. 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