| My experience with the story of Eastern Flight | | | | to try and make out the words and letters, a |
| 401 began early in 1973. I flew from Tampa, | | | | member of the flight crew passed by. It was the |
| Florida, to New York City and back several times | | | | First Officer headed to the back of the aircraft. |
| that year. Most of my close relatives lived in the | | | | I probably wouldn't have noticed him, but he |
| New York City area. During school breaks, I took | | | | stopped at my seat and looked at the sheets. He |
| the opportunity to combine visits with them with | | | | asked, "Pardon me, did someone on this flight or |
| opportunities to attend various paranormal | | | | at the airport give that to you?" I told him no and |
| seminars scheduled for that year. | | | | made the mistake of saying that I found it in one |
| At sixteen, I was an experienced traveler and | | | | of the magazines on board. I didn't want to get |
| made most of my own airline reservations and | | | | Susan in trouble. He reached over and grabbed it |
| arrangements. I hated crowds and loved red eye | | | | out of my hands saying it was a scandal sheet |
| flights. Traveling at odd hours was no big deal for | | | | passed around by ill-informed employees. |
| me. During the middle of Summer Break 1973, I | | | | I had no way of knowing that I was flying |
| was aboard a Sunday afternoon EAL flight that | | | | Eastern at a time when the Flight 401 ghost |
| seemed almost empty. In those days there were | | | | sightings were at their high point. The sightings |
| always more flight attendants than needed on the | | | | began in January of 1973 and continued in earnest |
| off peak hours flights. The younger, less | | | | until the summer of 1974. These events were |
| experienced crew members tended to hob knob | | | | exposed to the world in The Ghost of Flight 401, |
| with passengers. That's how I met Susan. (I am | | | | a book written by John G. Fuller. Fuller is one of |
| being polite: Flight Attendants were called | | | | my favorite authors. His book, Interrupted |
| Stewardesses if they were women and | | | | Journey chronicled the famous Betty and Barney |
| Stewards if they were men in those days) | | | | Hill UFO Abduction Case and there were others |
| Her attention was drawn to a book I was reading | | | | like Incident at Exeter that I enjoyed as well. |
| about Flying Saucers. Like most of the flight | | | | Fuller's book came out a couple of years after |
| attendants that I met during the 1970s, Susan | | | | the ghost sightings ended. His wife, Elizabeth, was |
| was from the South. She seemed about twenty | | | | an Eastern Flight Attendant that helped him get |
| years old and had a pleasant personality. We | | | | the goods on the 401 ghost sightings. Her book, |
| talked on and off as her free time allowed. I had | | | | My Search for the Ghost of Flight 401, was just |
| enough time in the air to know that there were | | | | as good as his and I read both with equal |
| several topics that you never brought up on a | | | | enthusiasm. Anyone interested the paranormal |
| plane. These included UFOs and Airline Crashes, | | | | should dig up copies of these and read them |
| but both subjects came up anyway. | | | | cover to cover. |
| Susan was obviously well read on the UFO | | | | The film, The Ghost of Flight 401, starred Ernest |
| subject. Like me, she had relatives in the Air | | | | Borgnine and was a part of a one-two punch |
| Force. She also knew people that had personally | | | | delivered by Hollywood. The second was the |
| seen UFOs while on commercial flights. Most were | | | | release of Crash, another film about the 401 |
| not spectacular sightings, but strange enough to | | | | disaster. This one starred William Shatner. Both |
| cause concern. What really got her started were | | | | films were shown on Broadcast Television in the |
| some of the ghost stories I told. It turned out | | | | USA and released in theaters in some other |
| that hers was much better than mine. | | | | Countries. All told, the films were well received |
| I didn't know much about the Flight 401 Air | | | | and probably gave Frank Borman more sleepless |
| Disaster except that it involved an Eastern Airlines | | | | nights than the ghosts themselves. |
| Passenger Jet which went down in the Florida | | | | In The Ghost of Flight 401, the ghosts appear as |
| Everglades about six months before. Personally, I | | | | any human would. For example, during a 1973 |
| was more concerned about airline hijackers in | | | | flight from Newark to Miami, A Flight Attendant |
| those days than crashes. Susan asked if I had | | | | was doing a head count when she noticed a man |
| heard any of the stories about ghosts from that | | | | in an Eastern Airlines Pilot uniform seated with the |
| flight appearing to people. I hadn't. Before she | | | | passengers. He refused to acknowledge her, so |
| could utter another word, a male flight attendant | | | | she contacted the flight crew. The Captain of that |
| walking by grabbed her by the arm. Both | | | | flight came back to see what was going on and |
| vanished into the First Class section. | | | | recognized the man as Bob Loft. He cried out, |
| After a few minutes the male flight attendant | | | | "Oh my God, that's Bob Loft!" At that point Loft |
| reappeared. Although he worked in First Class, he | | | | vanished. Everyone present saw it happen. |
| came up to my seat and asked how I was doing? | | | | During a 1974 flight from San Juan, Puerto Rico to |
| I said I was fine and didn't need anything. He | | | | Newark, NJ, the Pilot sees Don Repo sitting in the |
| introduced himself as Bobby and asked if I | | | | Flight Engineer's seat. Repo says, "There will never |
| wanted to move up to First Class. I accepted the | | | | be another crash of an L-1011, we will not allow it." |
| invitation. While walking through the curtain that | | | | Repo vanishes after speaking. During another |
| separated the sections, Susan whizzed by me | | | | sighting, Repo appeared to a Flight Crew member |
| with just a quick smile and stuffed some folded | | | | and said he had completed the preflight check. |
| mimeographed papers into my hand. I shoved | | | | On another occasion, a Flight Attendant saw a |
| them into my pocket. | | | | man in a Flight Engineer uniform fixing a |
| The five folded pages that Susan stuffed into my | | | | microwave oven. Thinking nothing of it, she went |
| hand looked like some kind of insider's newsletter. | | | | about her business. Later she asked the Flight |
| Something a Flight Attendant had put together | | | | Engineer what was wrong with the microwave. |
| for other Flight Attendants. It made reference to | | | | He had no idea what she was talking about. Repo |
| the 401 crash and how that some flight crews | | | | also appeared several times in the Hell Hole |
| were seeing ghosts from the 401 crash. The | | | | (electronics room) beneath the cockpit after crew |
| pages were badly worn and had obviously been | | | | members heard knocking in that area and went |
| passed around and handled a lot. Although names | | | | to investigate. |
| and specifics were left out, it was obvious that | | | | While boarding a flight that would take him from |
| this was a how-to sheet for crew members that | | | | JFK in New York to Miami International in 1973, a |
| wanted to avoid being on planes known for the | | | | Vice President of Eastern Airlines entered the First |
| 401 ghost appearances. | | | | Class Cabin and saw an Eastern Pilot sitting there. |
| After we landed, I told Bobby that I left | | | | When he got close enough to see his face, it was |
| something in my seat back in coach. Before he | | | | Bob Loft. Loft vanished before his eyes. Loft was |
| could say anything, I headed back to speak to | | | | seen by a number of flight crews and spoke |
| Susan. She was putting away pillows, so I thanked | | | | occasionally warning about problems or potential |
| her for being so nice, pulled the mimeographed | | | | problems on board an aircraft. |
| sheets out of my pocket and asked her, "Did you | | | | There were some other types of appearances as |
| see any of the ghosts?" She looked down and | | | | well. Flight Attendant Faye Merryweather saw the |
| thanked me for flying Eastern. Cold! I felt as if I | | | | face of Don Repo staring at her from an oven in |
| had been dumped by a prom date! I mean, it | | | | the galley of Tri-Star 318. The galley was |
| wasn't like I expected her to give me her | | | | salvaged from the wreckage of 401. |
| telephone number. I just wanted to talk Airline | | | | Merryweather summoned two other Flight |
| spooks. | | | | Attendants. One was a friend of Repo and |
| While in New York, I went to a library and looked | | | | recognized his face. Repo spoke and said, "Watch |
| up more information about the crash. It seems | | | | out for fire on this airplane." The airliner ended up |
| that the whole thing began when Flight 401 left | | | | having engine trouble a short time later on route |
| Tampa for New York on December 29, 1972. | | | | to Acapulco. After landing, the rest of its flight |
| The flight crew was Pilot Bob Loft, First Officer | | | | was cancelled. |
| Albert Stockstill and Flight Engineer Don Repo. On | | | | And it wasn't just flight crews that saw the |
| the return leg to Miami, a problem developed. | | | | deceased crew members. |
| While on approach to Miami International at | | | | Several Marriott Food Service workers saw a |
| 11:30pm, a landing gear light failed to come on. As | | | | Flight Engineer vanish in the galley of an airliner |
| a result, the crew attempted to be sure the gear | | | | being stocked for the next flight and refused to |
| was down. | | | | continue their work. That flight was delayed for |
| While trying to remedy the landing gear light issue, | | | | over an hour. Airline cleaners and mechanics |
| it's likely that someone bumped the aircraft | | | | began to find reasons to avoid working on or in |
| control column and deactivated the auto pilot. This | | | | Ship #318 where most of the sightings took place. |
| caused a slow decent that wasn't noticed by the | | | | Some believe that's because parts were salvaged |
| flight crew until it was too late. Loft and Stockstill | | | | from the aircraft involved in the 401 crash and |
| perished in the cockpit, although Loft hung on for | | | | transplanted into #318. It's as good as explanation |
| a while after the crash. Stockstill was thirty-nine | | | | as any. |
| and Loft was fifty-five years old. Don Repo, | | | | Although the details remain sketchy and there's a |
| fifty-one years old, initially survived the crash and | | | | great deal of disagreement about it, the end of |
| died a day later in the hospital. In the end, | | | | the ghost sightings may have had something to |
| ninety-six of one hundred and sixty-three | | | | do with a psychic intervention of sorts. It's been |
| passengers died. | | | | reported that one or more people who knew Loft |
| Two weeks later I flew back to Tampa, Florida. I | | | | and Repo managed to contact them through the |
| wondered if it had been sheer luck that caused | | | | help of a psychic medium who persuaded them |
| me to learn about the 401 ghost stories on a | | | | to move on. The ghost sightings ended about a |
| flight from Tampa and to New York. Maybe, but I | | | | year and a half after the crash. |
| wasn't lucky enough to end up on a flight with | | | | A haunting of this intensity and frequency reveals |
| Susan again. My off peak flight took off on a late | | | | how woefully inadequate our attempts to |
| Sunday afternoon with a completely different | | | | understand or investigate the paranormal have |
| crew. There were maybe thirty people on board | | | | been. This is especially true of those who do not |
| and we ended up with an experienced Flight | | | | care to acknowledge paranormal events in the |
| Attendant. She was kind of bossy, so I sat and | | | | first place. Rather than believe their own people, |
| read quietly. | | | | Eastern chose to ignore the ghost reports and |
| At some point, I took out the folded pages that | | | | recommend mental health evaluations and |
| Susan gave me. I tucked them into a notebook I | | | | treatment for those who saw them. If the |
| purchased at the airport and had been trying to | | | | ghosts that appeared after the 401 crash have |
| decode the worn mimeo sheets for days. It | | | | taught us anything, I would hope it is that simply |
| proved difficult and was very frustrating, but I | | | | ignoring paranormal events will not make them |
| thought I would use the flight time back to Florida | | | | vanish into thin air. |
| to try again. While I was using a magnifying glass | | | | |