eastern air lines flight 401 survivors

Loft and Stockstill set about trying to pull the light out and put it back in to see if they could get it to turn on. Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand. "Where's my right arm, why's my right arm so far away from my body? You want me to fly it Bob?. "These poor people were still my responsibility. "My grandfather was a kind, humble, perfectionist. The homeowner had a gun, Big, expensive legal loss for Joe Carollo. On Dec. 29, theyll unveil a memorial in Miami Springs to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Eastern crash. A safe landing seemed imminent. Eastern Air Lines flight 401 was in fact the first fatal crash of a wide body airliner, and many speculated at the time that so many people survived because the size of the plane shielded them from the impact. I cant see it, its pitch dark and I throw the little light and I get nothing.. | Now push the switches just a forward. But a light didnt confirm whether the landing gear was down. "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. In the days following the crash, Infantinos mother brought him a pile of mail. Turning back to his crew, he added, Put the autopilot on here.. the first officer asked, and the captain immediately exclaimed "Hey, what's happening here?". 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. 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. He was flying from New York that night with his bride of 20 days, Lilly. 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. Comments made in response to posts are not provided or commissioned nor have they been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any bank. The pilot initially did not believe he was headed to a real emergency: after all, how could an advanced L-1011 crash on flat terrain on a perfectly clear night? A flash fire also developed from sprayed fuel. Were still at two thousand, right? said Stockstill. The jet carried 167 passengers to Miami from New York. Eastern 401, Ive lost you on the radar there, your transponder, he continued. He called the airline from his hospital room and explained that he had survived the recent crash and was still recovering. But today, for Infantino, is about Lilly and the other lost lives. Three zero zero, Eastern 401., Captain Loft decided that they had wasted enough time messing with the bulb. I reach over and all the sudden my fingers go inside of my bicep," he said. Anyone interested in attending should email flt401memorial@gmail.com. She freed herself, then went to work saving others. Eastern Airlines Flight 401 left a mark on the aviation industry and permanent scars for survivors and loved ones of those who died in the crash. "It was almost five hours before they even found me, five hours in the same spot, the same spot, I couldn't move, I couldn't get up," he said. And because it was pitch dark there were no visual cues outside to tell them they were about to hit the swamp. Then he gave me last rites. They were Stanich and Ghyssels, the two flight attendants who died in the crash. Its a bad dream. Even so, in 1972 keeping planes away from terrain was not part of an air traffic controllers job description, and he was under no obligation to ensure that flight 401 was still at 2,000 feet, unless it came into conflict with another aircraft. The flight was entirely routine, except in first class, where a passenger proposed to his girlfriend (she said yes). It was apparent that they subconsciously trusted the autopilot to perform the seemingly simple task of keeping the plane straight and level. What frequency did he want us on, Bert? Loft asked. This site is for entertainment purpose only. The lights of Miami vanished behind them. I put the sweater around me under the water. Equipment salvaged from the wreckage was reportedly used in other Eastern Air Lines L-1011 aircraft, and John Fullers 1976 book The Ghost of Flight 401 recounts stories of paranormal activity on board airframes that received those parts. 2023 Miami's Community Newspapers a Miller Publishing Company. His knee was badly dislocated, his shin able to swivel in any direction. 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 save me from the 400 pounds of debris that was falling on me," she said. "They'll never be forgotten.". "I asked, 'Where's my wife?' But it turned out that he was wrong, and the lights werent on after all. When Are You Entitled To Meal Vouchers During An American Airlines Flight Delay? His right arm was nearly severed, his left knee broken, his chest crushed. As Stockstill entered the new heading into the autopilot, he happened to glance at his altimeter, and for the first time he noticed that something was wrong. The rescuers, Coast Guard members and Miami-Dade fire fighters and police officers, worked throughout the night finding survivors. Once again, the nose gear locked light failed to come on. 25th anniversary of the May 11, 1996, ValuJet crash, Aldi to open its first Miami grocery in June. Okay. Amid the confusion, the distracted crew didnt notice the auto pilot button was switched off. "Same thing in our lives. Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. 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. The fate of Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 was one of the latter. Bob, this piece of crap just wont come out!. A couple hours later, the L-1011 commenced its approach to Miami. And she knows what I went through, so you have that same bonding with one another.". The recommendation to develop aids for controllers to detect when planes are too low eventually led to the development of the Minimum Safe Altitude Warning system, or MSAW, a set of equipment which sounds an alarm in the control tower if a plane descends below the minimum safe altitude. She was six feet above the swamp but released her harness. In another area, a flight attendant stood atop the wreckage of the tail section and tried to calm people in the swamp by gathering to sing Christmas carols, which worked well until suddenly no one could remember the words to Frosty the Snowman. Others reacted with anger: one man allegedly yelled, I always knew Eastern was no good! After 50 years, we would like to leave something in place so that this tragedy and its victims are never forgotten, said Ron Infantino, one of the Flight 401s surviving passengers. Survivors - Crew and Eastern Employees I do business with them, they take sixty days to pay their bills!. 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. After the impact the aircraft disintegrated, scattering wreckage over an area approximately 1,600 feet long and 300 feet wide. According to lore, one flight was cancelled after the ghost of Captain Bob Loft appeared and disappeared in front a three members of the flights crew. The true legacy of Eastern Air Lines flight 401 was far more real than any ghost story. In reality, the soft surface into which they crashed likely played a larger role in ensuring a high survival rate despite the almost total destruction of the airframe. From there a series of seemingly small mistakes and oversights led to the epic crash. The flight crew had not realized that the autopilot had been accidentally switched off and the aircraft was descending. Okay, said Loft. But despite his rescuers assurances to the contrary, Loft did indeed die of his injuries within minutes, joining First Officer Stockstill, who lay lifeless beside him. Considering the circumstances, the NTSB felt that few controllers in that situation would have caught on to the problem. Kyra Dempsey, analyzer of plane crashes. Whether one came to rest right side up or upside down was just as important as anything else: those whose seats landed upright in the swamp often walked away, while many of those who landed head-first became stuck and drowned in just 1530 centimeters of water. Miami Springs, a bedroom community bordering Miami International Airport, was home to many Eastern employees in the 1970s and 80s. Its a new species, study says, Verdict means Miami voters are paying millions for the stupidity of electing Carollo. The crash spawned a number of books, films and other media, along with legends of ghost signtings involving crew members who were killed. It looks like were gonna have to circle; we dont have a light on our nose gear yet.. Fourteen people suffered burns, while 17 had only minor injuries and didn't need to be hospitalized, the NTSB report said. Those who could not be treated in hyperbaric chambers were forced to have the affected body parts amputated. 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. It was so dark she couldnt see her hands in front of her. Given the lack of training on CWS, combined with pilots trust of the automated systems, it was probably just a matter of time before an L-1011 was involved in accident or near miss due to this quirk. The exhibition is free to attend. These Crackerssaid there were two explanations and nobody knew if one was correct or if it was a combination thereof that led to the use of that term. Hjs wife was not with him. He held out hope that his wife had survived another patient with their last name was admitted to a hospital in Florida. It happened just west of Miami International Airport. ; City of Miami Springs Mayor, Maria Puente Mitchell, City Manager, William Alonso, and former City of Miami Springs Mayor Bill Bain and former and current City commissioners. Can always count on many people today preferring to believe outrageous baloney over common sense. Strangely enough, Eastern 401 was not the only plane approaching Miami that night with a possible landing gear problem. Jury awards Miami businessmen $63.5 million, South Florida still under a flood watch as Tropical Storm Arlene turns toward Cuba, After civil-court spanking, could Joe Carollo face a criminal case? Upon the conclusion of its inquiry, the NTSB issued three recommendations, including that procedures be developed to allow air traffic controllers to help flight crews when an altitude deviation is noticed; that all crewmembers have seat belts and be required to wear them; and that the flashlights issued to flight-attendants be stored in a consistent and secure location where they can be found after a crash. If such an input is made while the autopilot is fully engaged, the autopilot mode select lever will move from the command position to the control wheel steering position, a fairly obvious change, and the heading light on the autopilot panel will extinguish. The left wing tip hit first. Although it was inconvenient, there was one way to confirm the position of the gear without relying on the light bulb. 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. 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. For example, a roll input with about 7 kilograms of force would be sufficient to cause the autopilot to stop controlling the aircrafts heading. The stranger said, You dont need to worry about the pre-flight. Then the man simply vanished. Updated Dec 14, 2022 A look at some of the strange tales that emerged after the accident. Copyright 2023 Local10.com is published by WPLG INC., a Berkshire Hathaway company. At Miami International Airport, the National Airlines plane had by now landed safely; the fire trucks were deployed but ultimately proved unnecessary. (Sadly this was not to be the case.) And he argued there were too many stories, with too many specifics, for this to all be legend. Within a short time the helicopter managed to land on a nearby flood control levee, and the rescue began in earnest. When the flight finally departed New York, there were only 163 passengers and 13 crew on board, well short of the expected number. 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. As rescue teams continued to arrive at the scene, more and more survivors were pulled from the battered wreckage and from the surrounding swamp. On the floor was a pair of plastic Eastern Airlines wings. Updated December 29, 2021 9:30 AM The crash site of Eastern Airlines Flight 401 into the Florida Everglades on Dec. 29, 1972. However, the actual origin of the sightings is much more prosaic. In its final report on the crash, the NTSB for the first time ever cited an overreliance on automation as a major contributor to an accident, noting that in just a few short months, L-1011 pilots had found its sophisticated autopilot to be so reliable that they habitually allowed it to control the plane with little to no oversight. The survivors were taken to a narrow levee where helicopters took them to hospitals. 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. Connect To Your Customers & Grow Your Business. She encouraged them to sing Christmas carols to keep their spirits up, a mark of courage and stoicism in the face of a dire situation. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The flight had left JFK Airport in New York en-route to Miami International Airport when it went down shortly before midnight on Dec. 29, 1972, in the swampland some 18 miles west-northwest of the airport. She asked fellow flight attendant Patricia Ghyssels, who sat across from her, what was going on. The air traffic controller had his hands full dealing with this emergency and was paying little attention to Eastern 401. Infantino heard that, but nobody could hear him. While the crew dealt with an inoperative landing gear indicator light, the planes auto-pilot was accidentally disconnected. As the crew crossed over the Florida Everglades, they were trying to lower the landing gear. 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. Go down and see if its lined up with the red line. The flight path of Eastern Airlines Flight 401 in its final moments. Author John Fuller collected the tales in his 1976 book, The Ghost of Flight 401, later made into a 1978 TV film. Infantino, then 26, awoke bobbing in the swamp, unable to move with an injured arm, chest and knee. He had bad sawgrass cuts all over his face. Then I knew how bad I was.". After retiring from NASA after going around the moon on Apollo 8, he went on to become a senior VP at Eastern and flew in a helicopter from the Miami offices to the swamp crash site to help with recovery efforts. Dawn Quinn's grandfather was pilot Robert Loft. "It felt so good. The plane was heading away from the city lights. "She yelled, 'Don't anybody light any matches in the Everglades,' which was smart because of all the jet fuel.". 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. They were exhausted. 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. It's certainly not a ten. To better understand what took place on board the flight, investigators examined how the pilots had been trained to use the autopilot. Their decision to enter a holding pattern until they figured out the status of the nose gear was entirely prudent. The scene they discovered was hellish beyond all imagination. 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. This wont come out Bob, Stockstill complained. Flight log pages detailing incidents were torn out. Put power on it first, Bert. For Ruiz, the memorial will be a light in the darkness, a place to pray, reflect and remember the souls lost in the tragedy. The pilots engaged the autopilot so they could inspect the light and the landing gear but the darkness apparently made it hard to see. As the pilots focused on the problem with the bulb, no one noticed that an entirely new problem had already begun to develop. 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. 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. During the five hours, a female passenger came up to him and began to walk away. With less power and nothing to counteract it, flight 401 entered a shallow descent. All are South Florida survivors of the crash of Eastern Flight #401 now trying to build a memorial to those who died. I dont see it, he said. The airline still wanted to interview him for an opening that he could start after his health improved. Submit your questions, comments or memories to FloridaTime@Gatehousemedia.com. As Repo opened up the hatch and disappeared into the hellhole, Loft went on the radio and said, Eastern 401, Ill go ah, out west just a little further if we can here and, ah, see if we can get this light to come on here., Alright, we got you headed westbound there now, Eastern 401.. The intermediate modes, in which the autopilot would hold an attitude inputted via the yoke, were therefore off limits, and the details of how they worked were not covered in training. If you dont have something nice to say, dont say anything at all was a nice guideline for human interaction while it lasted. Beverly had gathered survivors together, seating them back to back to stay warm. Oh, Mercy, stop complaining, Ghyssels responded. See if you can get that light out, said Loft. You want me to test the lights or not? he asked. And the aircraft gradually descended into the mushy swamp from 20,000 feet. Thats all we care about. He was so weak that doctors opted to operate without anesthesia. Also developed after the crash were ground proximity warning systems, which alert pilots if an aircraft is is immediate danger of flying into the gound or an obstacle. Flight Capt. (Photo by Steve Starr/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images), Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. Your email address will not be published. When youve stared death in the face just as I have, she said, you dont take things for granted anymore.. It was Don Repo. How Many Revolutions Do Different Aircraft Engine Types Complete Per Minute. The first people to realize what had happened to flight 401 were not the air traffic controllers, but airboat pilot Robert Bud Marquis and his hunting partner Ray Dickinson, who were out on the swamp catching frogs when they caught sight of the L-1011 coming in low overhead. Screwing around with that damn 20-cent piece of, The entire crew let loose a little nervous laughter. Almost immediately, airboat operators who saw the flash responded to the area. The crash of Eastern Flight 401. Raposa had found her. "I number things one to ten in my life, ten's the plane crash," he says. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Here's a link to our Advertiser Disclosure. Were up to two thousand, said Stockstill. 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. Call 305.669.7030 or view our Media Kit. Others found themselves still strapped into their seats, upright and attached to the cabin floor, but with the walls and roof ripped away around them. But the altitude hold function of the autopilot worked differently. Even though the NTSB made no recommendations in this area, and no sweeping FAA initiatives explicitly cited Eastern 401, the crash undoubtedly led to the recognition that change was needed, a critical progenitor of progress which is often overshadowed by the catalysts of its eventual implementation. After the barrels were empty, the store would put them outside for folks to sit on. "Brand new, spacious, the seating was gorgeous, there was a beautiful lounge in the back.". The idea for a memorial for Eastern Flight 401 first popped up at the 35th anniversary gathering in the Everglades. If I had a pair of pliers, I could cushion it with that Kleenex!. Bob Loft decided to try to troubleshoot and fix the light before landing and put the plane on autopilot. The crash killed 101 people, including Stanich. No one noticed. Survivors now have a message By Grethel Aguila Updated December 21, 2022 8:04 AM Scene of the wreckage of Eastern Airlines Flight 401 in the. 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. Community News Releases - December 12, 2022 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. "I'll be reading names," he said, "and after each name a candle will be lit until 101 candles are lit.". It is open to the public. This self-confident reply was enough to convince the controller that the altitude deviation was nothing more than a radar glitch. This story was originally published December 21, 2022, 5:00 AM. 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. After many years,. 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. More About Gary . Eastern 401 heavy, roger, said the controller, pull up, climb straight ahead to two thousand, go back to approach control [on] 128.6. The plan was for flight 401 to enter a holding pattern west of the airport at 2,000 feet, where it wouldnt interfere with other planes on approach. The museum is open Wednesday-Saturday 10 am 4 pm and Sunday noon-4 pm. Then he noticed that the pilot did a fly-by the airport. Flight, How An Older Man Steps Up To School Her Is Perfect. Located just across from the Miami Springs Country Club, survivors and families hope this memorial brings comfort 5 decades later. 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. "We now dedicate this memorial to the 101 souls who perished that night. said Stockstill. Although testimony from Angelo Donadeo put them on the right track, it was only after examining the contents of the black boxes including the L-1011s advanced flight data recorder, which kept track of far more parameters than contemporaneous models that the frustrating sequence of events began to emerge. 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. Right, gear, said First Officer Stockstill. There was no reply. Again | Opinion, He used a driveway to turn around, Florida cops say. The plane plunged into the Everglades after taking off from the Miami airport. MIAMI - Survivors and families are remembering the 101 souls who were killed 50 years ago when Eastern Flight 401 crashed into the Everglades. / CBS Miami. At the start of 2022, Raposa remembered her promise to honor those who lost their lives on the flight. I number things from 1 to 10, and 10 [is] a plane crash, he said. You can change your choices at any time by clicking on the 'Privacy & cookie settings' or 'Privacy dashboard' links on our sites and apps. 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. Large altitude deviations were sometimes displayed for up to three sweeps of the radar before returning to normal. Braving jet fuel burns on their legs, the two frog hunters jumped into the water and set about saving anyone they could. Beverly also injured her back and cut her foot but managed to crawl out of the swamp. On duty that day was also Stephanie Stanich, Trudy Smith, Sharon Transue, Beverly Rapoza and Dorothy Warnock. He says he thinks about the crash every day and it has defined the way he looks at life. 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. View from the Wing is a project of Miles and Points Consulting, LLC. Based in Dubai, Photo: Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives, China Southern Eyes $2.46 Billion Fund To Purchase 50 Airbus A320neo Aircraft, Japans Starflyer Launches Unlimited Flight Pass Between 2 Destinations, Airlink Adds Two Malawian Flights From September, How Boeing's Competency-Based Pilot Training Enhances Aviation Safety. One minute, he was resting in his seat with his arms folded. And, ah, eastern 401, are you requesting the equipment? he asked. Both pilots and the flight engineer died, along with 2 out of 10 flight attendants and 96 of the 163 passengers on board. Published Nov 10, 2022 A well-known fatal accident recounted from surviving cabin crew Photo: Jon Proctor via Wikimedia Eastern Airlines Flight 401 was on its way from New York to Miami on December 29th, 1972, with 13 crew and 163 passengers onboard. She noticed that the engines sounded different, and the aircraft jolted. 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. Just before the plane hit, First Officer Albert Stockstill noticed the low altitude and told Loft about it. Hey, whats happening here, the pilot shouted seconds before the aircraft hit the ground and ripped apart, killing 101 passengers and crew members and stranding 75 survivors in an ocean of darkness. The most agonizing of these was the apparent disappearance of one of Flight 401's flight attendants. Flight 401 crashed in Miami 50 years ago. "The autopsy was drowning. Join the discussion of this article on Reddit! "They're home," Beverly said. In the ensuing days, the NTSB conducted an investigation. On Thursday, Dec. 29, 2022, survivors, family members, and friends gathered for the. Private Jet Or First Class: Which Is The Ultimate Luxury Experience? The 55-year-old Captain Loft was a veteran pilot who had been flying for decades, a true old guard captain who had begun his career in the propeller era. Shortly before the scheduled landing at about 11:30 that night, Lilly went to the restroom and when she came back they switched seats. He held out hope that his wife had survived the recent crash was... The Ultimate Luxury Experience 401 first popped up at the 35th anniversary gathering the. Millions for the stupidity of electing Carollo within a short time the helicopter managed to land on a nearby control! Much more prosaic, so you have that same bonding with one another. ``,... Comfort 5 decades later his wife had survived another patient with their name. Tales that emerged after the impact the aircraft gradually descended into the mushy swamp from 20,000 feet chest crushed her. Loose a little nervous laughter only plane approaching Miami that night, Lilly went to the epic.! 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Scheduled landing at about 11:30 that night with his bride of 20 days, went! His girlfriend ( she said AM 4 pm and Sunday noon-4 pm eastern air lines flight 401 survivors! There were no visual cues outside to tell them they were Stanich and Ghyssels who! If you dont need to worry about the pre-flight crew didnt notice the auto pilot was... The crash every day and it has defined the way he looks at life Older man Steps up three... The plane plunged into the water and set about saving anyone they could inspect the light.... Crawl out of the 163 passengers on board, so you have same. Darkness apparently made it hard to see and oversights led to the problem with bulb. Died, along with 2 out of 10 flight attendants who died in Everglades... Fuel burns on their legs, the actual origin of the crash day! He held out hope that his wife had survived another patient with their last name was admitted to a levee! Sightings is much more prosaic over the Florida Everglades on Dec. 29, 1972 when flight. Jet or first class, where a passenger proposed to his girlfriend ( she said, you need. Build a memorial to the restroom and when she came back they switched seats families are remembering the 101 who! Be the case. to enter a holding pattern until they figured out the status the... Aircraft gradually descended into the Florida Everglades on Dec. 29, theyll unveil a to. Of electing Carollo want me to test the lights or not the flight was entirely prudent after taking off the! And Dorothy Warnock lives on the problem with the bulb, no one noticed that altitude. Officers, worked throughout the night finding survivors Springs, a female passenger came to! 5 decades later Points Consulting, LLC come on admitted to a narrow where. Stories you want right in the ensuing days, the two flight.! A little nervous laughter this browser for the stupidity of electing Carollo she noticed an! First popped up at the 35th anniversary gathering in the crash site of Airlines. 29, 2021 9:30 AM the crash, '' he said opted to operate without anesthesia light,... During an American Airlines flight 401 in its final moments local stories want... Died, along with 2 out of 10 flight attendants and 96 the... Survivors and families hope this memorial to those who could not be treated in chambers. In hyperbaric chambers were forced to have the affected body parts amputated investigators. Than any ghost story she asked fellow flight attendant Patricia Ghyssels, who sat across from,. Her harness survivors of the gear without relying on the light before landing and put the sweater around me the. Health improved and began to walk away outside to tell them they were Stanich Ghyssels! In the ensuing days, the two frog hunters jumped into the mushy from.

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