In November 2022,Airwaysinterviewed former flight attendants Beverly Raposa and Mercy Ruiz to understand their perspectives as survivors of the crash. 2020 Pennsylvania Ave NW #315 Who could this have been? 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 . "She yelled, 'Don't anybody light any matches in the Everglades,' which was smart because of all the jet fuel.". Please enter valid email address to continue. 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. 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. The crash, another seminal moment in South Florida aviation history, killed all 110 people on board. 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. A group of survivors drafted plans for a marker, but life got in the way. Two days into recovery his dad came into his hospital room. The captain was 49-year-old James Edward Reeves, who had been with Eastern Air Lines since 1956. Shelley and Steve Rubin and their unborn baby boy - Sandy Shapiro December 30, 2020 . Soon passengers and crew on those aircraft report seeing what they believe to be the ghost of the . I said, 'I know what you're going through because I lost somebody too.' "What saved my life was chute on that dooractually on impact it inflated, she recalled. Raposa, 25, had noticed something strange. The survivors were taken to a narrow levee where helicopters took them to hospitals. Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 departed New York for Miami on December 29, 1972. The official cause of the crash was pilot error, the crew being distracted by a faulty nose gear indicator . 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. Although 75 people survived, the accident still resulted in the deaths of 101 occupants, including Captain Robert 'Bob' Loft and Flight Engineer Donald 'Don' Repo. Beverly Rapoza had just returned from the cabin, collecting empty dishes and glasses, and was looking forward to some rest. She called two of her fellow crew members in to witness what she had seen. READ MORE: The day when an Eastern Airlines jet crashed into the Florida Everglades. The precious love we shared means we are never far apart, Infantino said. 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. . one of the deadliest plane crashes in South Floridas history, Were down. Flight 401 crashed in Miami 50 years ago. She said her mom had moved to Connecticut and was coming home to surprise her family before New Years. Flashlights also became a standard piece of safety equipment at each jump seat. Today's story is one of tragedy, of course, but it's also one of heroism and bravery. Mercedes asked her colleague why they seemed to be heading away from the lights of the city. 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. Had we had flashlights that night, Ruiz continued, every person that was ambulatory could have helped. Flashlights eventually came to flight attendant crew stations ten years after the crash. In the hospital, Infantino barely survived. "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. Get the latest aviation news straight to your inbox: Sign up for our newsletters today. On Thursday, she was wearing the same Eastern Air Lines gold wings pin that she wore on the fateful night. The four-month-old L-1011 TriStar jet crashed into the Florida . I can also come here to feel her and be close to her.. One minute, he was resting in his seat with his arms folded. His knee was badly dislocated, his shin able to swivel in any direction. Although not in your arms, Im always in your heart. "We would love to have a home or memorial for ourselves we can't get anybody to help us.". The plane actually spun in a circle, the floor dropped and I woke up in the water," he recalled. 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. The captain recognized him as being none other than Bob. Fourteen people suffered burns, while 17 had only minor injuries and didn't need to be hospitalized, the NTSB report said. That time, finances got in the way. The pair also described takeaways for the public around aviation safety to go along with memorial efforts for Flight 401. Bud Marquis, who was out hunting frogs with a friend, was the first to arrive and found a scene of chaos, with survivors struggling in the swampy wreckage. Throughout the course of aviation history, there have been several other ghost stories. The flight, which departed from JFK International . Bob Loft decided to try to troubleshoot and fix the light before landing and put the plane on autopilot. Although not in your arms, Im always in your heart. People were screaming, and partially clothed dead bodies were face down in the water. She was six feet above the swamp but released her harness. 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 . Raposa explained that over many years, we worked, trying to put something together, emphasizing the development of a tribute for Flight 401. . In the hospital he learned just how bad off he was. He didn't know it, but it was Robert "Bud" Marquis, who was out frog-gigging with a friend. Updated on: December 29, 2022 / 6:57 PM She heard the cries of people and shouted, 'Follow my voice, I am a flight attendant' so that any surviving passengers could find her. While making preparations to land, the crew are distracted by a faulty landing gear indicator light and accidentally disengage the autopilot while trying to resolve the problem. According to DeWitt, the monument also represents how through a terrible tragedy in Flight 401, the industry eventually put safety first in many ways.. He said 401 needs a memorial not only for those who died but for its importance in airline safety. 2022 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. She found Beverly and commented 'it's a bad dream, we are going to wake up.' 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. "I don't know where she was. Although the sightings were reported in a Flight Safety Foundation publication, the Eastern Air Lines CEO dismissed the claims, and employees were warned not to talk about the sightings. Southern Airboat and other organizations also plan to honor Bud and the victims and survivors of Eastern Flight 401 with a service and a barbecue in Miami. / CBS Miami. 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. The captain had ordered that the landing gear be lowered in preparation for landing. The flight was largely uneventful, but, on approach to Miami, the flight crew had become fixated on a faulty indication in the cockpit. The jet carried 167 passengers to Miami from New York. The group will also try to raise funds for a memorial to honor those who died. Those were the last words recovered from the flight voice recorder. Eastern Air Lines Flight 212 was a regularly scheduled flight between Charleston, South Carolina and Chicago Illinois with a stop at Charlotte, North Carolina. It was time to leave as each of us will do. The Story Of Eastern Air Lines Flight 401. Afterward, folks hope to take the old man into the . 103 passengers and crew members died in the crash or shortly thereafter and 75 passengers/crew survived. The 76-year-old said his wife of 20 days, Lilly Infantino, died in the crash. In 2021, a memorial marker was installed in the Everglades to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the May 11, 1996, ValuJet crash. On the returning flight, an engine failed and had to be shut down before it caught fire. The development process of the monument represented 50 years of collaboration and remembrance following the crash of Flight 401. Before ValuJet there was Eastern Flight 401. It happened 40 years ago today on a cold dark night in the Everglades, a brand new "Whisperliner" jumbo jet . "It was so cold I can't describe it.". . Sharon and Adrienne were injured and trapped in their jump seats. Raposa had found her. For example, the vice president of Eastern Air Lines once boarded a flight from New York and chatted with a pilot, who he assumed was in charge of that sector. However, she explained that it was huge and funds were just not raised for that, and we talked about maybe three to four years ago about maybe doing something smaller.. 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. 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. Truth or scare? Hardly anyone has stopped by in 35 years to discuss the crash. Beverly had gathered survivors together, seating them back to back to stay warm. Eastern Airlines Flight 401 crashed into the Everglades on December 29, 1972 as it was descending to land at Miami International Airport. Patricia has a master's level postgraduate diploma in Human Factors in Aviation and has written about aviation since 2010. . 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. Eastern employees visited Infantino for a two-hour interview. "It was beautiful," said Infantino said of the jet. From there a series of seemingly small mistakes and oversights led to the epic crash. The wreckage of Eastern Air Lines flight 401 lies in the Florida Everglades after the crash. It was a huge fireball. Eastern Airlines, mistakenly believing they . A flash fire also developed from sprayed fuel. The City of Miami Springs hosted a Beautiful Memorial Ceremony on Thursday, December 29, 2022. It's certainly not a ten. 50 years later, memorial dedicated to survivors, families of Eastern Flight 401 crash. Its just special to me that we are remembering all the people who lost their lives, Quinn said. Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 was a Lockheed L10111 Tristar jet that crashed into the Florida Everglades at 1142pm December 29, 1972, causing 101 fatalities (99 initial crash fatalities, two died shortly afterward). Advertise: Call 305.775.4094 or email: "Where's my right arm, why's my right arm so far away from my body? Click on contribute in the blue box in the right column of the home page. The crash spawned a number of books, films and other media, along with legends of ghost signtings involving crew members who were killed. 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. This story was originally published December 29, 2022 7:10 PM. 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. Literally you were inside a tornado.". Writer - Patricia joins Simple Flying with over 20 years of experience in aviation. ads@MiamiSprings.com. He had bad sawgrass cuts all over his face. Was it because we switched seats? "The blessing was we didn't know we were about to 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. In one of South Florida's worst air disasters, Eastern Airlines Flight 401 from New York's JFK Airport to Miami crashed on Dec. 29, 1972, in the Everglades after the crew became distracted by a burned out landing-gear light. "I'm one person in the midst of all this," Marquis told NBC News back in 2007. 19 de agosto de 1972 (fonte: Jetsite ) O voo 401 da Eastern Air Lines, realizado por um avio Lockheed L-1011, foi vtima de um acidente tendo cado num pntano da Flrida, Estados Unidos (nos chamados Everglades) na noite do dia 29 de dezembro de 1972, causando a morte de 101 das 176 pessoas, entre passageiros e tripulantes, que seguiam a . So when Im stuck in traffic, I say, Ron, What number is this? MIAMI - Thursday marks 50 years since Eastern Airlines Flight 401 crashed into the Florida Everglades. The crash was a result of the flight crew's failure to recognize a deactivation of the autopilot during their attempt . . The heroism of Marquis and others and the heartbreaking loss of life that night are remembered and honored in an exhibit opening January 14 at HistoryMiami Museum in downtown Miami. This message board is intended for serious discussions of the December 29th, 1972 crash of Eastern Airlines Flight 401. The cockpit crew, scrambling to identify the problem, got permission from air traffic control to circle the Everglades. I'm just blessed. He says he thinks about the crash every day and it has defined the way he looks at life. 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. In any case, it was far from the first time that the deceased pilot had supposedly been spotted after his death. "The crew was so preoccupied with a 50-cent life bulb, they missed the whole picture," he said. They didn't find her body until two days later," he said. There were 75 at the time, 20 years ago tonight. On duty that day was also Stephanie Stanich, Trudy Smith, Sharon Transue, Beverly Rapoza and Dorothy Warnock. "I was leaning back, my eyes half closed, and all the sudden I hear the engines go to full power," he said. We get so tied up in the mundane things in life, the small stuff, we waste all our energies on that instead of concentrating on the major things. And she knows what I went through, so you have that same bonding with one another.". It was like a tornado. They were exhausted. He was offered the job. We reach over 20,000 people each month. Why them two?. 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. 2023 Endeavor Business Media, LLC. "Same thing in our lives. If you can hear my voice, dont light a match, flight attendant Beverly Raposa called out as she regained consciousness in the darkness. 401 JFK-MIA Dec. 29, 1972. 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