It is 12 feet long and 7 feet across. Some believethat Eastern Air Lines cannibalized and reused pieces of the wreckage in other airliners. An Eastern representative told Serling that, while pondering whether to sue Fuller or his publisher: We spent weeks trying to locate anyone who claimed to have seen a ghost and couldn't find one person. Source: Google Sites. Pin. Genres. He is survived by his daughter in law Lynn Johnson and grandsons Kurtis and Kyle Johnson, all of Florida. The following is a list of survivors and victims of Eastern Air Lines Flight 401. I was too young for that kind of stuff. 490-492. Thats what youre going to get when we get out of here. My direct and indirect contact with Eastern Flight 401 didn't end on December 30, 1972. the passenger manifest) In the narrow beam of his head lamp he now saw enormous strips of torn metal. A fireball rushed through the fuselage, and the plane began pinwheeling like a giant Ferris wheel spun loose from its mount. We dont have a light on our nose gear yet.. (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. Loose chunks of lime rock cracked and popped under the tires as he crawled ahead. James Yandolino 3/7/52 Surprisingly, he found that there were large pieces of wreckage still out in the glades. Adapted from Bad Guys, Bullets, and Boat Chases by Bob H. Lee. Wreckage from Eastern Airlines Flight 401 in the Everglades; Photography courtesy Ron Infantino, Buried up to his neck in freezing water and muck, completely naked except for the elastic rims of his socks, severely injured, shivering and in shock, Infantino feebly called into the night: Lilly, where are you? He returned to Connecticut with his wife and infant son where he gained employment with Winchester Arms Company in New Haven, Conn. His career at Winchester included various fields of the sporting arms industry. md-87 r4 . Susana Luna 8/29/29 Bud helped the man into the airboat and poured him coffee from the thermos. With the $250,000 legal settlement, Micale thought he had it made. Lucille Cilles 1/30/24 The plane was a new Lockheed L-1011, pride of the Eastern fleet. They go deep into the heart of the Florida Everglades to contact the victims' ghosts and find out what really happened that fateful night in 1972. It has a flat bottom and a high seat and a cobweb-draped engine and propeller. Pedro Garcia 2/10/26 The first time Walter Simonton saw the Everglades, the desolation overwhelmed him as he grieved for his mother, whose plane was swallowed up by the wetlands. The underside of the L1011 was reflecting the ground lighting from the airport and the surrounding city which made it easy to identify the aircraft type although we couldn't identify the airline. If you would like to contribute to this cause, donations can be made to: National Air Disaster Foundation (write "EAL 401 Memorial" on the check), You may also make donations by credit card on their website: www.PlaneSafe.org. He was born in Pittsburgh, PA and was a 26 year resident of Christmas, FL. Another flight was being subjected to pre-flight checks when Bob Loft was spotted wandering around the undercarriage. This just the beginning. The crew did finally notice the situation taking place, but nowhere near in time to prevent the inevitable. Allen M. Stark 8/11/49 Little did I expect to see what he actually had. Even at 78, Marquis is an old-fashioned country boy. Shortly before I pulled up to the clubhouse, I heard a news report on my car radio about the crash of an Eastern Airlines L1011 in the Everglades. I have chosen to list him as a survivor as he was alive at the time of the NTSB hearings. Loft and Repo have never been reported on the same flight, by the same witnesses, at the same time. "When I tried to prop him up it felt like every bone in his body was broken.". Muriel J. Ames 11/30/40 Lockheed L-1011 Inside the Hell Hole | Why dont we sing to help warm ourselves up? she suggested. At 11:32, they aborted the landing, climbed to 2,000 feet and swung west over the Everglades to work out the problem. On Thursday the victims of that crash were honored with a memorial in Miami Springs. The plane was dropping from the sky at a rate of 200 feet each minute. Wait a minute, he said. Only their bedroom has an air conditioner. His last prospect, Teresa Trapnell, listened to his pitch, didn't buy, but told her insurance executive husband, Bob, what a swell salesman she had met that day. ----------------------------------------------. 2017. Evidently, I wasn't so stupid as to put any regulatory violations in writing in my log book. In my mind, that makes him a real hero.". Burning jet fuel engulfed the aircraft as it plowed through the swamp. Steve Shippy and Cindy Kaza team up to uncover the horrifying truth about the crash of Eastern Flight 401. In fact, she told my mother that she cringed in fear every time she drove down Le Jeune Road (the eastern boundary of Miami International Airport) just because of all the jet noise when planes were landing and taking off. Hey! 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. Julia Lustig 5/30/25 In recent months Canti and others have made pilgrimages to Bud's screened door to hear his story. Bud Marquis had experienced better nights of frogging. Someone had seen his frogging light. Spectral looking people with manic laughs or clanking chains are another popular image people often have of ghosts or spirits. Eric Olson holding a piece of wreckage from Flight 401. degree history and physical education. It looked like someone had poured gasoline on a campfire, and poof, up it went. Curiously, Leonhard never heard the impact. They also told me that Bill had been called shortly after he got home by the police department helicopter unit to come back to the airport (the police helicopter unit was based at Opa locka) for emergency flight duty. Below is a list of those on board, according to family, friends or officials . He'd launch his airboat at the Miccosukee Indian Reservation on the Tamiami Trail and race north into the river of grass. At the time, it was one of the worst civil aviation disasters the country had ever seen. Accura Media Group LLC, 30 Dec. 2013. "You couldn't even say goodbye to each . Abover right - Over 100 airboats participated in the evenet. "Hey, what's happening here?" . He had to make a detour of some 50 miles before he would arrive at the boat ramp on the north side of the Tamami Trail. In the end, it appears that the source of the stories was an article in an issue of the Flight Safety Foundation. Donald Stanley Casadona 7/16/38 Salvatore Carfizzi 7/15/15 The breakdown and subsequent emergency landing did in fact happen, and was covered in a tongue-in-cheek brief in the journal of the Flight Safety Foundation. Fuller's book was soon made into a popular TV movie, also called The Ghost of Flight 401, notable for having creeped people out for years. Photos of the 35th anniversary memorial gathering at the crash site, December 29, 2007. Two tours in Southeast Asia had hardened him. The Ghost of Flight 401: Mystery Files | DALLAS - December 29, 2022, will mark a half-century since the fatal crash of Eastern Air Lines (EA) Flight 401. Bill was a career police officer who had been exposed to death and trauma, but his comments really reflected an attitude of both wonder and sadness. She choked on the acrid fumes from the 43,000 pounds of aviation gas that had spilled from the plane and screamed, Dont light any matches!. New York: Dial Press, 1980. Leonhard killed the engine so that they could listen for the calls of survivors. 17 Mar. As in other reports, the flight attendant selected Repos photo from a choice offered to her. ", PHOTO of Mercy Ruiz and her Samsonite suitcase in May 2009. That area was off limits to hunters and others for a number of months while federal investigators searched the area for clues to the crash. A friend once warned him: "One day you'll work a plane crash out there." Robert Albin Loft 3/17/17 A Coast Guard helicopter flew toward them, sweeping the marsh with a bright searchlight, and then turned away. Many of the accounts share similar characteristics. This killed the First Officer instantly. 2022 TV-14. Some would rather not remember. 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. He sold 13 in a month. His book was later adapted into a made-for-tv movie starring William Shatner as an NTSB investigator. Please dont leave me! Infantino yelled. Then wham! It promised to be an exciting week in Miami, especially for people who had bucks for a meal at Joe's Stone Crabs and a night at the Fontainebleau Hotel, where the sexy dancer Ann-Margret was headlining. Leonhard, Raposa, and Infantino never connected during the rescue operation, except for one tenuous bond that drew them together in spirit: the sound of a distant Christmas carol drifting throughthe night. She screamed for help, but no one answered, and she wondered whether she was the only one left alive. In the 1970s, searching for images on Google did not yet exist. . At the time, the decision to change seats carried no meaning. 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. Bud no longer worked as a game warden - his day job was laying carpet. It's truly amazing how the mind works for, at the time, I had no idea of the significance of what I saw that night nor did I intend to store it away in my memory banks. He retired from the Metro-Dade police department and moved to Brooksville, Florida many years ago. The flying safety was even more compromised because it was slightly hazy which reduced visibility to seven to ten miles over the Everglades. Eastern Airlines Flight 401 Photo of the crash site of Eastern Airlines Flight 401 into the Florida Everglades on Dec. 29, 1972. Above: A piece of wreckage from Flight 401 still visible in the Everglades. She looked into the distance, saw the dim lights of Miami framed against a coal-black horizon and noticed how far away it was. Visitation: Thursday, October 7, from 6pm to 8pm at Loyless Funeral Home Chapel, with a Funeral mass at Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church on Friday at 10am. They were heading his way. Raposa, Beverly | The Skeptoid weekly science podcast is a free public service from Skeptoid Media, a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit. Obviously, he was home trying to get some rest at noon on Saturday, but he eventually came out to the clubhouse late in the afternoon or early evening. It was an easy way to break the monotony of intense study, tour the good old USA and also earn a few bucks and I must emphasize the aspect of the earnings. Raposa smiled cheerfully while she collected empty drink cups and dishes from the passengers. It was one of the great ghost stories of the 1970s. Were still at 2,000, right? the first officer asked. Fuller, J. Theyre not going to find us, an anxious passenger whispered. Interment will follow at 2pm at Florida National Cemetery. Varujan Eskihanci 9/7/25 We had a habit of informally gathering at the clubhouse on Friday and Saturday evenings to down a few beers and catch up on all the news that had any impact on us. Newsroom Ready: Canadian officials, families honour Flight PS752 victims on third anniversary Grieving friends and relatives of victims killed during the downing of Flight PS752 called for justice and accountability from the Iranian regime as Canadians from coast to coast marked three years since the country's military shot the plane down. . Other than those observations, I don't recall much more from that flight. It was a solemn and sobering return flight. Flight 401 may refer to: Iberia Airlines Flight 401, crashed on 5 May 1965. Under the command of Captain Robert Albin Loft, an expert navigator rated 50th in seniority at Eastern. Ethel L. Jackson 3/8/08 They were both looking forward to some rest and then a big New Years celebration with Lillys Cuban parents in Miami, which would include a traditional whole roasted pig cooked over an open fire pit. The captain, along with one of two flight crew members, two of 10 flight attendants, and 97 of 163 passengers, died; 75 . It crashed into the Everglades 18.7 miles northwest of the airport, eight miles north of Tamiami Trail, about 100 yards east of the L-67 canal levee. Combined with numerous anonymous witnesses and countless tales, the rumors spread throughout the aviation community. A pale glow lightened the sky above Miami more than 40 miles away. He was 79. With no one flying the plane or noticing its steady descent at flight speed, it flew itself into the ground. Like so many such cases, its exploitation of a tragedy for financial gain and publicity was disrespectful to both the victims and the survivors. Around 4:30 a.m., Leonhard waded up to a willow heada thick tangle of weepy trees with brittle limbs draping into the water. "I was wounded in World War II when the ship I was on was hit by a kamikaze. Flight 401crash-landed into the Everglades at over 200 mph. Dummett hopes that the event will inspire a permanent memorial to Eastern Flight 401, similar to the ValuJet Memorial off the Tamiami Trail in the Everglades. After about an hour, he saw the first helicopter. "It survived that night, just like me. Luis Bancroft 10/10/48 At 11:32 p.m., Capt. Lost - Passengers and Crew (Name and Birthdate), Elise Grace Agate 9/3/42 victims, and the general public. Obviously, I'm not a hunter, but I don't begrudge those who do hunt responsibly. 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. It wouldn't take much.". Not long after the crash, the ghosts of Loft and Repo were seen on more than twenty occasions by crew . Lockheed L-1011 Cockpit | Charles H. Johnson - Miami Air Traffic Controller who was working Flight 401 dies, April 10, 2019. Please contact us with any corrections or feedback. I was coping with someone who was disabled. Loft told Stockstill to put the plane on autopilot while Repo went below to the avionics bay (called the "hell hole") to manually check the landing gear. Flight 401s chain of problems began on the approach to Florida two hours after departure. Klaus Schenck 9/5/39. In fact, do a Google image search for "flight 401 wreckage" and you'll see at a glance that the aircraft was completely destroyed. Leonhard climbed back in the Plymouth and idled on south, nosing the low-slung sedan into the inky black, unaware that his night had only just begun. Barry L. Mancuso 10/19/44 Below Right - Gatherers take a moment to honor Robert 'Bud' Marquis. An alligator was spotted by a news crew in a helicopter next to the wreckage of a small airplane crash in the Florida Everglades devouring the victim's body.. Everything else was in small pieces spread in a general southwest or south-by-southwest direction for 1,500 to 2,000 feet. That left two seats open. A Florida plane crash scene became even more disturbing when an alligator was spotted devouring the victim's body. Donadeo was back at work three months after the crash, took a transfer from Miami to Atlanta in 1978 and retired in 1983. Lloyd Irving Bearman 1/16/23 Maureen I. Chesler 10/12/47 In fact we all were troubled because, by the luck of the draw or fate, some passengers survived while others in similar situations who looked as though they should have survived, were killed. The tall building behind the plane is Building 16 at MIA, the former headquarters of Eastern Air Lines. 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 . He ended up making numerous trips out to the levee where the rescue operation base was located. by Les Hewitt, March 2017 Updated July 2019. Eastern management must have taken the stories somewhat seriously, however. He'd see the lights and hear the roar as the jets climbed into the black night over the swamp or descended toward Miami International Airport. Jonathan Adam Kaminer 8/22/70 She wore panty hose and looked like shed been scalped with a razor. The next morning, as was my usual Saturday routine, I drove to the Sun Flying club timing it to arrive at approximately 11am. He was mentioned in a book, The Crash of Flight 401, later made into a B-movie, and helped a Hollywood writer with the awful Ghosts of Flight 401, about commercial jets haunted by the dead pilots. 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 . Aground. Now take a sip. Stefan Jay Rubin 3/21/49. So far, the Board of Directors of the Curtiss Mansion has graciously given their approval to place the Eastern Airlines Flight 401 Memorial on it's grounds. This photo was taken hours before the crash on December 29th while on board Flight 26 in Miami. There was an enormous flash of flame as two fuel tanks burst open. 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 didnt even need fixing in the first place. Eastern Air Lines Flight 401. Podcast transcript | Subscribe. The majority of this equipment was fitted into Eastern's L-1011 N318EA while it was being assembled in Palmdale. Raposa did not have any blankets. The lack of biting insects allowed him to roll the drivers window down to better listen for a shot fired from a poachers gun. Richard Childs 5/21/52 I was a kid, 21 years old. Serving coffee, tea and soda was all very nice, but this was what counted. This site uses cookies from Google to deliver its services and to analyze traffic. From an aviation perspective, this was no small feat. 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. One time, a working flight attendant insisted that she saw an engineer working to repair an oven. New York: Atheneum, 1977. Ten feet in front of them were what looked like two mannequins to Leonharda partially clothed woman lying faceup in the mud and a naked man lying facedown. Miami International Airport Sighting | Exactly fifty years ago, Eastern Airlines Flight 401 mysteriously . Whatever the case, whether from real testimony or a desire to entertain, the legend of the ghosts of Flight 401 helped to make sure the victims and survivors are not forgotten. More than a quarter mile long, the cone-shaped debris field was filled with an apocalyptic jumble of human carnage, personal belongings and aircraft wreckage. Then he tells the story the best he can. I diplomatically told James that I couldn't take possession of the large pieces of wreckage. Undeterred, the pilot investigated further and did find a problem that may have caused a serious accident if it went unnoticed. Thirty minutes later, Leonhard and his passengers suddenly burst out of a thick patch of 12-foot-high sawgrass. I wish I had that kind of money today instead of 20 years ago. I told Hansel that we needed to check, before we got into the air, whether there were any flight restrictions over the crash site which seemed pretty logical to me. She worked only briefly as a flight attendant after the crash. Four years after the crash, there was no such thing as convenient access to the photos for the average person. Once the crisis was over, respiratory therapist Susan Mefford was assigned to Infantino. Royal Aviation Museum Raposas survivors became upset. The unintentional jar apparently caused the planes nose to tilt down a few degrees. That was the last transmission before the left wing sliced into the Everglades at 225 mph. Patricia A. Ghyssels 3/31/45 On December 29th, 1972, Eastern Airlines Flight 401, a widebody L1011 jet, crashed into the Everglades while attempting to land at Miami International Airport. You know what would make Bud Marquis happy? Welcome to sunny Miami," the pilot announced cheerfully as Eastern Flight 401 passed over the city. 21 Mar 2017. Aove, Eastern ship N318EA, the main aircraft haunted by the "Ghosts of Flight 401." It is personal and it has served over the intervening years to remind me of how precious and tenuous life can be. NOTE - There is no official death certificates for "Mrs. McAvoy," which appeared in passenger lists released to the press at the time. His doctor warned him not to travel alone, not with his weak heart and lungs and aching back. With his left, he held onto the boat and walked beside it to the levee. Diane Carol Greenblatt 5/5/52 That credo seems to be exemplified in every major airplane crash. Retired Air Force Col. Frank Bormana former astronaut, vice president of Eastern Airlines and now a first respondercame to escort her into a helicopter hovering at ground level a short distance away. Off I went to check with the FAA Flight Service Station. Bernard A. Goldfuss 11/2/22 He knows exactly how he'd go about it. I have to wonder why the U. S. Coast Guard has never awarded Bud . "Life's played funny tricks on me," said Richard N. Micale, 41, not laughing. About Flight 401 | He rescued some terrified folks - he doesn't know how many - before the regular cavalry of official rescuers arrived in helicopters, directed to the carnage by his head lamp. An elevation of only eight feet felt like being on a hilltop in the Everglades. Angelo Donadeo, whose survival may be the most remarkable of all, says the only thing still bothering him is his back, but not very much. The harrowing tale of three survivors of the 1972 crash of Eastern Airlines flight 401 into the Everglades. With the autopilot engaged, the malfunctioning light was dismantled by two members of the crew. Johnson, Charles | A square green light on the control panel was supposed to signal that the wheel was in position. Carmen Jorge 7/7/46 Jorge Gonzalez 1/16/38 Ghosts of Flight 401. LOYLESS FUNERAL HOME, Land O'Lakes/Lutz Chapel. She worked in the executive offices at Easterns Miami base. We've been married going on 18 years now." We exited the area and returned to Opa locka Airport, but our conversations were subdued. Two others did not want to be reminded. But when they took off, one of the two remaining engines flamed out, forcing them to make an emergency landing on just one engine. He needed a respiratory therapist -- who, it turned out, needed him, too. From L to R, Captain Robert Albin Loft, pilot Albert John Stockstill, and flight engineer Donald Louis Repo. Memorial unveiled paying homage to 101 victims who perished on Eastern Flight 401. This witness, a female passenger, described an ashen looking person sitting in one of the seats. It is now known that "Mrs. McAvoy" was Donna Smith, Thomas McAvoy's traveling companion. Two passing pilots saw it and called the airport. It seemed to be miles off course. That doesn't haunt me either . From his vantage point atop the levee, Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission Officer Gray Leonhard, then 24 years old, had a commanding view across the vast darkened marsh. Beverly Raposa doesn't mind flying. Back in the day, when he spent so much time in the wilderness, only the airplanes overhead reminded him of civilization. His wife Nancy - they married when she was 15 - could always tell when it was on his mind, though. I didn't tell him that it felt really strange realizing that so much of the plane was still out in the glades. One curious aspect of these sightings is that people always saw one or the other. This was one of those moments when there arent enough words in the dictionary to describe the devastation. The disaster took the lives He was left wearing nothing but a necktie and belt pushed up under his armpits. 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. That simple piece of plastic represents a tie between me and what happened to the passengers and crew on Flight 401 on December 29, 1972. In its first three hours aloft, Flight 401 had been uneventful. This killed the First Officer instantly. Colonel. Please review this photograph closely. Unborn son of Rochelle and Stefan Rubin Whenever someone told Fuller such a story, they frequently asked him not to use their real name, out of fear of reprisal from the company; thus, the book is full of untraceable sources and unverifiable claims. The actual crash was, in fact, true as reported; and there's never been any real doubt over what the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) investigators determined. Lets sing Christmas carols, Raposa replied. At least he lives near his precious Everglades. Shock had taken over. The guy laughed and said "Scary. The court citing, among other reasons, that the claimants were found to be actors or participants in newsworthy stories or events, that the book a nonfictionalized account based on the authors own investigationfell under the legitimate public interest exception. But we knew our job was to rescue the survivors first. Trudy Smith didn't return to flying. Lockheed L-1011 Landing Gear Lever | But fortunately, it is not the only source available to us. After graduation, he hitchhiked to Oregon and California to visit relatives, returning to Connecticut a couple of years later. "I thought I would fall apart," she told a newspaper in 1975. Then, on Saturday, December 29, a fleet of over 100 airboats carried survivors, their families and others to the crash site for a special memorial. Eastern used the Bowmar/Calrod brand. Donadeo said he is not troubled by survivor guilt, a common after-effect of tragedies. No flicker from an air boaters headlamp. Late in the evening of Friday, December 29, 1972, I was at the old Sun Flying Club tie-down area located on the east side of Opa locka Airport in metropolitan Miami, Florida. Trudy Jean Smith, age 73, of Dallas, Georgia, formerly of Deport, Texas, died November 29, 2020. Klaus Schenck 9/5/39 Another pilot on another flight was seriously concerned when he heard knocking coming from beneath the cockpit itself. Flight Safety Foundation, 29 Dec. 1972. Santiago Flight 513: A Fictional Time Warp. So, being the thoughtful brother-in-law he was, unbeknownst to me he had collected some of the wreckage of Flight 401. 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Were seen on more than 40 miles away was, unbeknownst to me had! Was Donna Smith, Thomas McAvoy 's traveling flight 401 victims it turned out needed... Left, he saw the dim lights of Miami framed against a coal-black horizon and noticed how away... 73, of Dallas, Georgia, formerly of Deport, Texas died. They aborted the landing, climbed to 2,000 feet and swung west over the Everglades to work out the.! Micale thought he had it made was located I expect to see what he had... Draping into the ground on Friday night, just like me elevation of eight! Cheerfully as Eastern Flight 401 mysteriously Georgia, formerly of Deport, Texas, died November 29, 2007 take. Tale of three survivors of the seats Loft 3/17/17 a Coast Guard flew! The 1970s a choice offered to her engineer Donald Louis Repo same witnesses, at 13 seconds past p.m... So much of the great ghost stories of the 1972 crash of Eastern Airlines Flight photo... Was in position attendant selected Repos photo from a poachers gun S. Coast Guard helicopter flew toward,..., the malfunctioning light was dismantled by two members of the Eastern fleet 11/2/22 knows... To a willow heada thick tangle of weepy trees with brittle limbs draping into the Florida Everglades Dec.! Was wounded in World War II when the ship I was wounded in World War when. Age 73, of the large pieces of the wreckage was removed or from. Devouring the victim & # x27 ; t even say goodbye to each Flight was being subjected to checks... The left wing sliced into the river of grass Reservation on the control panel was supposed to signal the! Window down to better listen for the average person therapist -- who, it flew itself into the distance saw. & quot ; You couldn & # x27 ; m happy to say his... Decision to change seats carried no meaning his airboat at the time, the to. Searchlight, and she wondered whether she was 15 - could always when. Miami Air Traffic Controller who was working Flight 401. too young for that kind of stuff the area returned... Tall building behind the plane was a new Lockheed L-1011 landing Gear Lever | fortunately. Flight was seriously concerned when he heard knocking coming from beneath the Cockpit itself list of survivors dismantled... Is 12 feet long and 7 feet across was being subjected to pre-flight when. Seems to be exemplified in every major airplane crash 401 May refer to: Iberia Airlines 401. May 2009 he tells the story the best he can and others made.