It was quite possible that the landing gear was in the correct configuration. The sightings apparently stopped once this was all done. Emails from the Dead – The Jack Froese... Two Frightening Similar Murders – 157 Years Apart, Flight 401 – The Ghost Crew of Eastern Air Lines. Sightings of the spirits of Don Repo and Robert Loft spread throughout Eastern Air Lines to the point where Eastern’s management warned employees that they could face dismissal if caught spreading ghost stories. 51:56. Lockheed L-1011, aircraft 310, flight 401 headed from New York to Miami on Dec. 29, 1972. The Exorcism Of Clara Germana Cele – A Forgotten Story From 1906. Source: FAA. It was the Lockheed L-1011-1 Tristar model which, on December 29, 1972, left New York’s John F. Kennedy airport and crashed into … WHY YOU SHOULD CARE. Loft abandoned the landing and informed Air Traffic Control of the issue. Talk to anyone about ghosts or hauntings, and invariably images of abandoned old houses with dilapidated features or conditions will spring to mind. At this moment, the First Officer Albert Stockstill noticed that the landing gear indicator was not illuminating. The flight was under the command of Captain Robert Albin Loft, a 32-year-veteran of Eastern Air Lines. It's a big Universe full of wonders. The lack of confirmation from the interior landing light signal so consumed the entire crew’s attention, that none of them noticed that one of them had inadvertently switched off the autopilot. 12 Different Types Of Ghosts That Could Be Haunting You! By this time, Frank Borman was the CEO of Eastern Airlines who called the stories a ‘haunting garbage’ and considered suing the producers of the 1978 made-for-TV movie The Ghost of Flight 401 for tarnishing Eastern Airlines’ reputation. The pilot, Bob Loft (on the left), and flight engineer Don Repo (on the right), were two of the 101 people who perished in the air crash. The 52-year-old flight engineer was one of 101 people who’d died Dec. 29, 1972 when Eastern Flight 401, packed with holiday travelers, slammed into the Everglades 19 … Another pilot on another flight was seriously concerned when he heard knocking coming from beneath the cockpit itself. Not long after the devastating crash, stories began to emerge in the Eastern Air Lines community of unexplained encounters with some of the crew from flight 401. Mayday 05 - Target is Destroyed (Korean Air Lines Flight 007) Air Crash Investigation (Mayday) 2003 ‧ Drama. Captain Robert Loft and Second Officer Donald Repo survived the crash, shortly. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Loft and Repo have never been reported on the same flight, by the same witnesses, at the same time. While Eastern Airlines publicly denied some of their planes were haunted, they reportedly removed all the salvaged parts from their L-1011 fleet. Investigators concluded the plane’s lower altitude by saying, the crew was distracted by the nose gear light, and because the flight engineer was not in his seat when the lower altitude warning sounded, so would not have been able to hear it. While the crew was focused on the landing gear indicator, the plane unknowingly came down at a lower altitude and abruptly crashed. The eerie mystery of Eastern Airlines flight 401 ON A dark night in 1972, a plane hit the ground, killing 101 people. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. A jet airliner is not something that immediately comes to mind: except to those who know about Eastern Air Lines flight 401. Jason Padgett – The Salesman Who Turned Into A Maths Genius After Head Injury, The Unsolved 1987 Slaying Of Dardeen Family Still Haunts Illinois. She was shown photos of several of the flight staff and she picked out Don Repo. Visually, since it was nighttime and the aircraft was flying over the darkened terrain of the Everglades, no ground lights or other visual signs indicated the TriStar was slowly descending. 48:44. Parts of the aircraft that had crashed operating Flight 401 were salvaged after the crash investigation and refitted into other L-1011s. The third, Repo, used a porthole to try and get a visual on the gear. Burning jet fuel engulfed the aircraft as it plowed through the swamp. The original witness so was distressed that several of the cabin crew had to forcibly restrain her. That alone adds credibility to their accounts. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Another flight was being subjected to pre-flight checks when Bob Loft was spotted wandering around the undercarriage. Pieces of Flight 401’s wreckage can also be found in Ed and Lorraine Warren’s Occult Museum in Monroe, Connecticut. Eastern Air Lines Flight 401, operating with a four-month-old Lockheed L-1011-1 Tristar (the tenth example delivered to the carrier) carrying 163 passengers and 13 crew members, left New York's JFK airport on Friday, December 29, 1972 at 9:20 p.m., en route to Miami International Airport. ATC put the plane into a holding pattern over the Everglades. Flight 401’s chain of problems began on the approach to Florida two hours after departure. Whenever either Loft or Repo make an appearance, they tend to be life-like and look like just another person. When word of this reached the only engineer on board of that particular flight, he denied ever fixing the oven and went as far to say that it didn’t even need fixing in the first place. References: It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. About years ago an Eastern Airlines L1011 circling the Miami airport preparing to land just before midnight crashed into the sawgrass, mud and swamps of the Everglades. Eastern Airlines, a Miami mainstay in the air and on the ground, changed forever on March 9, 1989. One hundred and three lives were lost. © 2019 paranorms.com. The landing gear could have been manually lowered nonetheless. However, on this night, air traffic control was able to release some airspace east of Jacksonville, vectoring all the MIA area flights (which includes FLL and PBI) so they wound up west of \"… Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 crash site (Google Maps). Flight 401 was under the command of Captain Robert Albin Loft, 55, a veteran Eastern Airline pilot. Frank Borman, prior to becoming CEO of Eastern Airlines, arrived at the crash scene and helped to rescue the flight passengers. From L to R, Captain Robert Albin Loft, pilot Albert John Stockstill, and flight engineer Donald Louis Repo. He further stated that he had no doubt at … The signal inside the cockpit had not illuminated as it should have. CVR transcript of the December 29, 1972 accident of Eastern Flight 401, a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar in the Everglades near Miami, FL, USA. If this was true, then perhaps they recycled more than just aircraft parts. The NTSB also reported that 67 passengers survived the carnage and 94 perished, as did two of the cabin crew. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. Another link between the sightings and the aircraft involved could be the corporate decision to use undamaged parts of Flight 401 on other jets in the fleet. This killed the First Officer instantly. The flight would have normally passed east of Jacksonville, Florida, at a point 155 miles out to sea and passing a latitude along which lay, on the other side of the world, Cairo and Shanghai. Americans Previously Stranded Abroad In South America Arrive At MIA. Spectral looking people with manic laughs or clanking chains are another popular image people often have of ghosts or spirits. Flight 401 crash-landed into the Everglades at over 200 mph. Many thanks to Sharon Kay Horvath, whose research helped me to find some of the burials. Les currently resides in London and is a freelance writer with a long-standing passion for the unexplained and paranormal. Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 departed New York for Miami on December 29, 1972. Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 was a scheduled flight from New York to Miami. The point of this entire story is to simply tell you that yes – planes can be haunted. A Net Inceptions project. On the night of December 29th, 1972, Eastern Airlines Flight 401 took off from New York and headed towards Miami, Florida. There were 75 survivors. Both pilots and the flight engineer died, along with 2 out of 10 flight attendants and 96 of the 163 passengers on board. Unfortunately it did so as a scattered wreck over the marshes of Florida’s Everglades. On December 29, 1972, Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 was the first jumbo jet to crash and the second worst single-plane disaster in America up to that time. The men on Flight 401's flight deck listened to their fellow pilot onboard the National plane as it dealt with its troubled gear. The controller testified that he contacted EAL 401 because the flight was nearing the airspace boundary within his jurisdiction. Not long after the crash, the ghosts of Loft and Repo were seen on more than twenty occasions by crew members on other Eastern Tri-Stars, especially those planes which had been … At first, witnesses reported nothing more severe than standing in the aisles, occupying the galley and cockpit. Source: Google Sites. Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 was a scheduled flight from New York to Miami. There were 10 flight attendants in the main cabin serving 163 passengers. The experienced flight crew was distracted when the landing gear light failed to come on, which they believed was caused by a blown bulb. As in other reports, the flight attendant selected Repo’s photo from a choice offered to her. Less than three hours later the aircraft reached Florida. Enfield Poltergeist: A Haunting or Child’s Prank? The man vanished before their very eyes and those of several other passengers. To get daily short stories, history bites and mystery updates, like us on. An attendant of Tri-Star 318 was so shocked to see Repo looking back at her, that she called other members of the cabin crew to confirm the sighting. On December 29th, 1972, Eastern Airlines Flight 401, a widebody L1011 jet, crashed into the Everglades while attempting to land at Miami International Airport. Soon afterwards, strange things started to happen in the skies. Of the 176 people on board, 101 lost their lives in the tragedy. Wreckage site of Eastern Air Lines Flight 401. The flight engineer on duty during this flight was a personal friend to Repo and instantly recognized the face as that of his deceased friend. Royal Aviation Museum But the rumours of the flight haunting had already spread far and wide. 1972 was drawing to a close when a routine flight from JFK, New York to Miami departed at 9:20 p.m. with 30-year veteran pilot Captain Bob Loft at the controls. But that wasn’t the end of it. According to all present, Repo then warned them about a fire on board. It crashed on the ground within 4 minutes. Captain Bob Loft survived the impact but was so severely injured that he died during the rescue efforts. It seemed a combination of system malfunction and temporary distraction of the crew was to … On 29 th December 1972, Eastern Airlines Flight 401 came crashing out of the sky and into the Florida Everglades. Don Repo survived long enough to reach the hospital, but he also proved to be too badly injured. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. Mayday 07 - Flight 574_ Lost (Adam Air Flight 574) Caractéristiques de l'accident; Date: 29 décembre 1972: Type: Impact sans perte de contrôle : Causes: Erreur de pilotage: Site: Everglades, Floride: Coordonnées : 25° 51′ 53″ nord, 80° 35′ … One other witness has also come forward with a similar story that adds validity to the others simply because of who he was at the time. She was so worried about his appearance that she summoned an attendant to investigate further. 29 December 1972- Eastern 401. The pilots cycled the landing gear, but still failed to get the confirmation light and they crashed abruptly. Fear of Landing. Over time, the reporting of ghost sightings stopped. One time, a working flight attendant insisted that she saw an engineer working to repair an oven. Source: Google Sites. SS Ourang Medan: The Shocking Clues That She Left Behind, 20 Most Infamous Unsolved Cases Of Child Murders & Missings, Anneliese Michel – The True Story Behind "The Exorcism Of Emily Rose", 20 Strangest Facts About Dreams That You Never Heard Of, Diana Of The Dunes – The Indiana Ghost Story That Will Leave You Absolutely Baffled, The P-40 Ghost Plane: An Unsolved Mystery Of World War II. Aviation Safety Network > Accident investigation > CVR / FDR > Transcripts > CVR transcript Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 - 29 DEC 1972. Eastern Airlines Flying Stranded Americans Home: carrier has repatriated more than 5,700 Americans since March 13. The pair conversed briefly before Loft faded from sight. The final leg of the flight was canceled as a result of this fire. Mayday Desastres Aéreos - T05E09 - Distração Fatal - Eastern Air Lines 401. Television and books told the stories of the Flight 401 Ghosts. USC Title 17. That’s when the airline filed for bankruptcy. 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. Captain Bob Loft and Second Officer Don Repo died in the crash, as did ninety-nine other people on board in what was one of the worst commercial air disasters in United States history. Eastern Airlines to Begin Service Between New York and Guayaquil. The Lockheed L-1011 crashed into the Florida Everglades. 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). Despite the crew’s attempts to lower the landing gear, the signal that it was down and locked failed to appear. Photo was taken earlier while on the ground in Miami. One curious aspect of these sightings is that people always saw one or the other. Eastern Air Lines flight 401 encountered no problems while cruising between the two cities. The flight crew of 401. Cavok Vídeos. The reported hauntings were only seen on the planes that used those spare parts. The other flight crew members were First Officer John Stockhill, a flight engineer, and Donald Luis Repo, an aircraft mechanic, and flight engineer. In his spare time, he enjoys astronomy and Xboxing. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Flight attendants of flight 401. The aircraft, a Lockheed L-1011-1 Tristar jet, seemed to have an issue with the front nose gear. Officer Repo died the next day at the hospital. Angel’s Glow: What Happened In The Battle Of Shiloh In 1862? Onboard the aircraft, all members of the Flight Crew worked solely on their problem. However, Captain Loft died before he could be rescued from the wreckage. Surprise turned to horror when Repo disappeared before the pilot’s eyes. The reports were given by experienced and trustworthy pilots and crew. Source Wikimedia Commons, Jon Proctor March 1972. According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the main fuselage broke into four main sections and many other smaller pieces on impact. I don’t pretend to understand why it happens. An original floorboard from Flight 401 remains in the archives at History Miami in South Florida. Enter your email address below to subscribe to our newsletter. Imagine his surprise when he came face to face with Don Repo. While all this was very much in the public domain, reports circulated that aircraft engineers quietly removed any materials they had reused from the crash. On December 29th, 1972, Eastern Airlines Flight 401, a widebody L1011 jet, crashed into the Everglades while attempting to land at Miami International Airport. Worse, none of them noticed that the jet had been steadily losing altitude. Perhaps that may not have made much difference. It happened 40 years ago today on a cold dark night in the Everglades, a brand new "Whisperliner" … The flight was uneventful until the approach to Miami. Mysterious Universe Reports began to take on much more sinister overtone, at least in the eyes of the witness involved. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. Bob Loft appeared before the Vice President of Eastern Air Lines in First Class. The company folded in 1991 and is perhaps still better known for some of the more compelling and credible paranormal encounters to date. The reader of these transcripts is cautioned that the transcription of a CVR tape is not a precise science but is the best possible product … We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. The crew did finally notice the situation taking place, but nowhere near in time to prevent the inevitable. Shortly before midnight on December 29, 1972. It was the Lockheed L-1011-1 Tristar model which, on December 29, 1972, left New York’s John F. Kennedy airport and crashed into the Florida Everglades, causing 101 fatalities. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. Before ValuJet there was Eastern Flight 401. Eastern Airlines Flight 401 crashed in 1972. More than a single person has often been present at the time, whether by accident or design. It took a while, but the female passenger eventually calmed down. Stockstill died instantly in the impact as the plane crashed into the swampy Florida Everglades. The plane descended out of the sky as pilots were distracted over a landing gear warning light. The pilots and the flight engineer, two of 10 flight attendants, and 96 of 163 passengers died. The flight departed JFK Airport on Friday, December 29, 1972, at 9:20 PM, with 163 passengers and a total of 13 crew members on board. 21 Incredibly Well-Preserved Human Bodies That Have Survived The Ages Astonishingly. Shortly after, pilots, flight attendants and the VP saw apparitions of the dead crew. A crawlspace beneath a cockpit is one thing, a galley oven is quite another. All rights reserved | Privacy Policy | Contact us. Santiago Flight 513: A Fictional Time Warp. This witness, a female passenger, described an ashen looking person sitting in one of the seats. Over the following months and years, employees of Eastern Air Lines began reporting sightings of the dead crew members, captain Robert Loft and second officer Donald Repo, sitting on board other L-1011 flights. This was not the only sighting registered. Section 107 specifies usage of copyright material falls under Fair Use when it is applied for criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching and research. Explore the world of strange and unexplained things, creepy stories, true crimes, dark history, paranormal happenings and many more. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation later discovered that the crash happened due to a burned-out light bulb. With their very careers on the line, each witness must be totally certain what they saw is what they saw. With the autopilot engaged, the malfunctioning light was dismantled by two members of the crew. In the days and weeks following the crash of Eastern Airlines Flight 401, recovery efforts captivated the nation, and perhaps because of its iconic, unforgiving, alligator-riddled crash site, the event has remained seared in the memories of Floridians for decades. Officially, Eastern Air Lines denied anything was wrong with their aircraft or personnel. Worried that something was wrong with the aircraft or one of its systems, the pilot opened up the compartment trap door. It turns out that the area I was flying over is the well-known stomping grounds for the crew of Eastern Airlines Flight 401: A plane that crashed in 1972 over the Everglades. The majority of the witnesses are the most professional of professional people and simply not really the sort of people to invent the stories that they tell. Repo seemed to have a knack of turning up in the oddest of places. Flight 401 flew south over Norfolk, Virginia, then followed Jet Airway 79 to Wilmington, North Carolina, and thereafter was over water. At the time, not much notice was taken. This week, only a few miles from the crash site, many of the survivors came together for the first time and met the airboaters and rescue personnel who help save their lives. Outside of the aircraft, there wasn’t much in the way of visual cues and city lights were non-existent. Vol Eastern Air Lines 401: Le Lockheed L-1011 TriStar impliqué dans l'accident. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. 29 December 1972: Eastern Air Lines Flight 401, a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar, was en route from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), New York, to Miami International Airport (MIA), Florida, with a crew of 13 and 163 passengers. Later on during the flight though, problems with the engine all stemmed from a fire that no-one knew about. The other 101 people on Eastern Airlines Flight 401 died quite horribly — 98 in the Everglades where the airplane crashed, three later in hospitals. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Only 75 passengers and crew survived. The disaster of this flight still remains as one of the worst in American aviation history. Right after this event, a new turn comes as a consequence. © 2020 M Y S T E R I E S R U N S O L V E D | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Almost 40 years ago, Eastern Airlines flight 401 crashed. Captain Bob Loft is often earmarked as the notorious subject of this haunting, but the truth is that Don Repo is far more active and more regularly witnessed. The flight was under the command of captain Robert 'Bob' Loft, 55, a veteran Eastern Air Lines pilot ranked 50th in seniority at Eastern. These cookies do not store any personal information. Many of the accounts share similar characteristics. At no time would officials of the company allow or condone any attempt to investigate the reports. It is said that this is the reason Loft and Repo haunted Flight 401 – to keep future flights safe from human error. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. What Happens To Our Memories When We Die? It is said that Don Repo would appear only to warn of mechanical or other problems that needed to be checked. His flight crew included the First Officer Albert Stockstill, 39, and the Second Officer cum flight engineer, Donald Repo, 51. The crash site of Eastern Airlines Flight 401 into the Florida Everglades on Dec. 29, 1972. “The aircraft disintegrated, scattering wreckage over an area approximately 1600 feet long by 300 feet wide” (NTSB). Therefore, the crash was due to the pilot-error. The appearance of the dead flight engineer … was confirmed by the flight engineer. On December of 1972, an Eastern Airlines Tri-Star jetliner, Flight 401, crashed into a Florida swamp. At first, the VP just assumed that this was the Captain of the flight he was on. Eastern Air Lines Flight 401, operated by a four-month-old Lockheed L-1011, registration N310EA, carrying 163 passengers and 13 crewmembers, departed New York-JFK at 21.20h EST for a flight to Miami. Shortly before midnight on December 29, 1972. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Images, videos and other multimedia published on paranorms.com qualifies as Fair Use under U.S. copyright law. Accept Read More, Jamaica Inn Ghost Hunt: Search for Paranormal Activity, History of Paranormal Investigation Equipment and Techniques, Haunted Dolls That Should Never Be Played With, The History of Illinois’ Haunted McPike Mansion.