This is the tragic tale of Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 and the madness it left in its wake. Resend Activation Email, Please check the I'm not a robot checkbox, If you want to be a Photo Volunteer you must enter a ZIP Code or select your location on the map. The three major sections of the fuselagethe most intact of which was the tail assemblylay in the mud towards the end of the wreckage trail. [5]:4 In the next 70 seconds, the plane lost only 250ft (76m), but this was enough to trigger the altitude warning C-chord chime located under the engineer's workstation. Hawkins County, Tennessee, USA. The . Thank you for fulfilling this photo request. Flight 401 was under the command of Captain Robert Albin Loft, 55, a veteran Eastern Airline pilot. It was a pleasure to meet and fish with you and Daniel! It had been cleared for a 9PM departure from New York's JFK airport to Miami, with Captain Robert Loft at the helm and Albert John Stockstill, a former Air Force flier, as his co-pilot. The flight is uneventful. Found more than one record for entered Email, You need to confirm this account before you can sign in. The crew began to panic. The individual looked outside to see what the pilot was looking at and after turning to look back at the next seat over, Robert Loft had disappeared. 29 Dec 1972 (aged 55) Miami, Miami-Dade County, Florida, USA. . Frank Borman, a former NASA astronaut and Eastern's senior vice president of operations, was awoken at home by a phone call explaining of a probable crash. It's OK to think I am nuts. [21] A television film, also titled The Ghost of Flight 401, aired on NBC in February 1978. Alligators coming out in hordes to feast, snakes attacking rescue workers, organisms in the swamp infecting wounds and causing irreparable damage. Stockstill died instantly in the impact as the plane crashed into the swampy Florida Everglades. The plane dropped around 500 feet, but no one among the crew realized it as their systems didnt register the drop. For months, hunters, poachers, and wildlife enthusiasts started reporting strange unearthly sights and encounters around the crash site. Spooky tales unfolding high above us in planes shuffling people from one destination on the planet to another are, in certain circles, more common than we might think. Make sure that the file is a photo. Learn about how to make the most of a memorial. Robert married Emma Loft. There are no volunteers for this cemetery. First Officer Stockstill was killed on impact, and although pilot Robert Loft and flight engineer Donald Repo initially survived the crash, Loft died while being pulled from the wreckage and Repo succumbed to his grievous injuries later at a hospital. 50 seconds later the plane, once more nosedived, again, this time losing more than half its assigned altitude. Only when they dropped their altitude shortly after did they realize the error, by which time it was too late. Loft expresses concerned surprise before Stockstill asks, Were still at 2,000 feet, right? As realization appears to dawn on Loft the transmission cuts out. There's nothing like a day spent fishing in the beautiful waters off the coast of Rockport, Texas. What followed not only left a trail of body parts, broken hearts, mass hysteria, damning accusations but a mass grave now populated by alligators and ghosts. Never been back to that place since that moment around here, we do our best to avoid that area.. Frank Borman, prior to becoming CEO of Eastern Airlines, arrived at the crash scene and helped to rescue the flight passengers. TheNational Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation later discovered that the crash happened due to a burned-out light bulb. Many of them were happy to tell of their experiences. [15][16] Gossip regarding the sighting of the spirits of Don Repo and Bob 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. ). [5]:3 This was later discovered to be due to a burned-out light bulb. Use Escape keyboard button or the Close button to close the carousel. On the day of the crash, Flight 401 was operated using a Lockheed L-1011-1 TriStar (registration N310EA), which had been delivered to the airline on August 18, 1972. Scared but calm, she went to find other colleagues and returned with two other flight attendants. By Isabelle Resnick In 1979, Captain Robert R. Singleton published the first edition of You'll Never Get Lost Again. [5]:6[a], The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation discovered that the autopilot had been inadvertently switched from altitude hold to control wheel steering (CWS) mode in pitch. Please complete the captcha to let us know you are a real person. Some of Flight 401s equipment was salvaged and repurposed for other crafts of the Eastern fleet. Robert Serling's 1980 book From the Captain to the Colonel tells the complete history of Eastern Airlines, from 1935 when it was headed . The disintegration of the aircraft that followed scattered wreckage over an area 1,600ft (500m) long and 330ft (100m) wide in a southwesterly direction. Lived In Saint James NY, Osprey FL, Nokomis FL, Nesconset NY. New Year was two days away and Miami was a hot and sexy place to celebrate the occasion. Spooked me silly. [4] Despite their own injuries, the surviving flight attendants were credited with helping other survivors and several quick-thinking actions such as warning survivors of the danger of striking matches due to jet fuel in the swamp water[9] and singing Christmas carols to keep up hope and draw the rescue teams' attention, as flashlights were not part of the standard equipment on commercial airliners at the time. We have set your language to And when you're aboard Fish Tales Fishing Charters with Captain Robert, you're guaranteed to have a great time. Sorry! His flight crew included First Officer Albert Stockstill, 39 and . In early 1973, the captain of an Eastern flight from Newark to Miami was told that there was a passenger in first class not listed on the flight manifest, attired in an Eastern Airlines captain . He graduated in 1990 with a Bachelor of Science degree. 50 seconds later the plane, once more nosedived, again, this time losing more than half its assigned altitude. One reserved for the living perhaps. The slight forward pressure on the stick would have caused the aircraft to enter a slow descent, maintained by the CWS system. Investigations into the sightings would prove not only that the witnesses were of sound mind (and some very high-ranking, to boot), but the details and descriptions offered of these apparent visitors from the other side matched the former pilots almost exactly. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter to receive the latest articles directly in your inbox. A captain serving under Colonel Lanser in the military regiment that invades the town. Captain Loft had been with the company for over 32 years; a total of 29,700 flight hours. He was a member of Gold Prospectors of the Rockies and the National Rifle Association. Also known as Robert Laudat, Robert Loft. The short video below looks at the incident in a little more detail. Frank Borman, prior to becoming CEO of Eastern Airlines, arrived at the scene after the crash to assist with rescue efforts. Receive the latest articles directly in your inbox weekly. Most believe their presence was a result of the fact that Eastern Airlines, to save money, used salvaged parts from this crashed plane. Your email address will not be published. Accueil; Prsentation; Dpollution; Nos vhicules; Nos pices You have chosen this person to be their own family member. Marquis suffered multiple burns to his face, arms, and legs but valiantly continued seesawing people in and out of the crash site that night and the next day. Thus, the switching to CWS in channel A possibly did not occur in channel B, thus depriving the first officer of any indication the mode had changed (channel A provides the captain's instruments with data, while channel B provides the first officer's). Resides in Sarasota, FL. The reported hauntings were only seen on the planes that used those spare parts. For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab. The crash occurred while the entire flight crew were preoccupied with a burnt-out landing gear indicator light. The other crew members assisted Stockstill, but he also became distracted by the problem. 75 survived the crash67 of the 163 passengers and eight of the 10 flight attendants. On 29 th December 1972, Eastern Airlines Flight 401 came crashing out of the sky and into the Florida Everglades. The crew didnt react. Subsequent to these press stories, The Ghost of Flight 401 was published in 1976. His spirit and that of Flight Engineer Don Repo were said to have appeared on other Eastern Lockheed L-1011 aircraft for years after the crash. It appears this happened during the temporary commotion among the crew. Tragically, with the Lockheed L-1011s auto-pilot being accidentally disconnected in addition to a malfunctioning landing gear indicator light, the aircraft crashed into the Florida Everglades. Cockpit area microphone (CAM): [Sound of click], CAM: [Sound of six beeps similar to radio altimeter increasing in rate]. [5]:4 This altitude alert, designed to warn the pilots of an inadvertent deviation from the selected altitude, went unnoticed by the crew. One of the most enduring mysteries of The . And the damn light It was just a burned-out lightbulb. As manager of this memorial you can add or update the memorial using the Edit button below. And recently, one passenger has come forward explaining their paranormal encounter. Archaeologists found more than a hundred mysterious giant figures in the Nazca desert, Neanderthals: the oldest art in the world wasnt made by humans, The mysterious Voynich Manuscript: What you need to know, Secrets of the Pharaohs: Archaeologists unearth stunning royal tomb in Luxor, Egypt. Your Name: Subject: Message: Notify me by email of all message replies. JAMES ROBERT ''BOB'' LOFT , 55, of Aurora died Nov. 23. Preoccupation with a malfunction of the nose landing gear position indicating system distracted the crew's attention from the instruments and allowed the descent to go unnoticed. Comment by dasbaum PvP vendors are currently not selling Season 3 & 4 elite gear (in EU only though, US seems to work). After the aircraft had descended 250 feet (76m) from the selected altitude of 2,000 feet (610m), a C-chord sounded from the rear speaker. It is not, however, the only such incident of its type on record. Eddie Albert starred as "Dunn", a fictionalized version of Captain Robert Loft. Mysterious unknown script By Newton Stone, Recent skeletal DNA analysis proves German, Danish & Dutch origins of the English people. [14], Over the following months and years, stories began circulating that employees of Eastern Air Lines, and numerous passengers, had reported sightings of the dead crew members, captain Robert Loft and second officer (flight engineer) Donald Repo, sitting on board other L-1011s (including, in particular, N318EA). Prior to his current assignment, he commanded the Joint Intelligence Operation Center European Command Analytic Center at RAF Molesworth, United Kingdom. Subscribe Today! His flight crew included First Officer Albert John "Bert" Stockstill, 39, who had 5,800 hours of flying experience (with 306 of them in the L-1011), and Flight Engineer Donald Louis "Don" Repo, 51, who had 15,700 hours of flying experience, with 53 of them in the L-1011. She would insist, however, and began to describe the person she witnessed. of the men simply moved on from our realm of existence after so long? Although they were much less, so did sightings of Bob Loft. [15][16][17], These stories speculated that parts of the crashed aircraft were salvaged after the investigation and refitted into other L-1011s. Robert passed away in month 1897, at age 34 at death place, Kentucky. They rushed to rescue survivors. A similar situation appeared in the Thai film Dark Flight, directed by Kongkiat Khomsiri, produced in 2012. Subsequent to these press stories, The Ghost of Flight 401 was published in 1976. The following conversation was recovered from the flight voice recorder later: Less than 10 seconds after this exchange, the jetliner crashed: The location was west-northwest of Miami, 18.7mi (30.1km) from the end of runway 9L. I thought you might like to see a memorial for Robert Albin Bob Loft I found on Findagrave.com. [11] The swamp absorbed much of the energy of the crash, lessening the impact on the aircraft. Captain Loft is "as much a captain as one can imagine," a man who believes that being a soldier is the highest and most honorable occupation to which a person can aspire. Are you sure that you want to delete this memorial? In 1779 he was commissioned as Captain. Robert Albin "Bob" Loft. And the paranormal encounter occurred over the Florida . An original floorboard from Flight 401 remains in the archives at History Miami in South Florida. Eastern Airlines Flight 401 departed New York's JFK airport at 9:20 in the evening enroute to Miami International Airport. At this moment, the First Officer Albert Stockstill noticed that the landing gear indicator was not illuminating. [5]:3, The flight was routine until 23:32, when the plane began its approach into Miami International Airport. Perhaps the final conversation heard by the control tower between Captain Loft and First Officer Stockstill is the best place to start when unfolding the tragic circumstances of 29th December 1972. Previously sponsored memorials or famous memorials will not have this option. At around 5:00am, this person closed their eyes and after feeling as if someone was near, this individual opened their eyes to find someone sitting in the aisle seat. Captain Loft Character Analysis. It is arguably one of the strongest indicators of the presence beyond death on record. He also named the mighty Columbia River after his ship, SS Columbia Rediviva. Perhaps if we one day can understand the reasons for that, we can understand more of afterlife existence generally speaking. The reported hauntings were said to only be seen on the planes that used the spare parts. Captain Loft was found during the autopsy to have an undetected brain tumor in an area that controls vision. Suddenly the plane plunged 250ft in 70 seconds; an altitude warning went off . Template:Unreferenced 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 (flight engineer) Donald Repo, sitting on board other L-1011 (N318EA) flights. Over the following months and years, rumors began circulating that employees of Eastern Air Lines were reporting sightings of the dead crew members, captain Robert Loft and second officer (flight engineer) Donald Repo, sitting on board other L . All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. Pieces of Flight 401s wreckage can also be found in Ed and Lorraine Warrens Occult Museum in Monroe, Connecticut. [4] It was also the first hull loss and fatal crash of a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar. Back row: Pat Ghyssels, Trudy Smith, Adrianne Hamilton . No animated GIFs, photos with additional graphics (borders, embellishments. Immediate Family: Son of Joseph Frost. These reports received extensive publicity by the news media. Based on Fuller's book, it focused on the ghost sightings surrounding the aftermath. The mud of the Everglades may have blocked wounds sustained by survivors, preventing them from bleeding to death. A pilot named Robert Loft was one of the apparitions. Maybe the salvaged pieces of Flight 401s wreckage also contained the final energies of the crew. Of the 176 people on board, 101 died. The author does not own the rights to this content. The crash was followed by reports of the appearance of apparitions of Flight 401 crew members, including Captain Loft, on subsequent flights. Captain Roberts is a level 45 Elite NPC that can be found in Dalaran. 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. This person greeted the male (in his late 40s or early 50s) who was wearing a pilot's uniform and a captain's hat that read Eastern Air Lines. You need a Find a Grave account to continue. All three of them now saw Repos face in the oven door. Oops, something didn't work. Cremated, Ashes given to family or friend, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/17211647/robert-albin-loft. So without in any way wanting to make light of it, after all the events that led to the sightings of Second Officer Don Repo and Captain Bob Loft were truly . A Halloween Tale: Kennedy Airport, Flight 401 and the Walking Dead. The death toll per the final accident report was 99. intentional infliction of emotional distress, "Airliner carrying 167 crashes in Everglades", "Giant jetliner goes down in 'gator infested swamp", "Eastern Airlines, Inc. L-1011, N310EA, Miami, Florida, December 29, 1972", "Robert "Bud" Marquis's Obituary on San Francisco Chronicle", "PART TWO: THE CRASH "It felt like a wild rollercoaster ride", "A Lesson on the Importance of Crew Resource Management", "Lessons Learnt from the Crash of Eastern 401", Eastern Flight 401 The Story of the Crash, The Crash of Eastern Air Lines Flight 401-Epilogue, ASN Aircraft accident Lockheed L-1011-385-1 TriStar 1 N310EA Everglades, FL, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eastern_Air_Lines_Flight_401&oldid=1134185383, This page was last edited on 17 January 2023, at 11:40. Captain Robert Arnott, the master of the Cunard liner Queen Elizabeth 2, who has died aged 92, was known to the thousands of passengers who sailed with him in the heyday of passenger shipping . I was just frog gigging went, a face looked up at me from below the surf. In the following years, however, passengers and crew alike began to not only see Loft and Repo on and around Eastern Airlines flights, many unknowing people even had brief conversations with them. The approach controller cleared the flight to climb to 2,000ft (610m), and then hold west over the Everglades. The crew of Flight 401, taken aboard Flight 26 while on the ground in Miami earlier the day of the crash. A further sighting is even more spine-tingling. Dubuque Regional Airport 11000 Airport Road Dubuque, IA 52003 Phone: 563-589-4128 [5]:4 Fifty seconds after reaching their assigned altitude, Captain Loft instructed First Officer Stockstill to put the L-1011 on autopilot. Mud of the Everglades on Findagrave.com Thai film Dark Flight, directed by Khomsiri! 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