Ghosts of Eastern Airlines Flight 401

Everglades Jet Crash - Witnesses Saw Loft’s & Repo’s Apparitions

May 29, 2009

Eastern Flight 401 Crashed in Everglades , http://gimp-savvy.com/cgi-bin/img.cgi?noacqRr3GYJ1

Reports of their ghostly hauntings began to come in from the planes that received spare parts from the L-1011 jet. The apparitions were always described very life-like.

On the night of Friday, December 29, 1972, Eastern Airlines Tri-Star jetliner, Flight 401, was nearing Miami Airport. Captain Bob Loft and Flight Engineer Don Repo were getting ready for landing when something went very wrong. The airliner slammed into the Everglades. Loft died in the wreckage; Repo, passed the next day. Eastern salvaged much of the wreck and distributed the undamaged parts among similar aircraft.

Repo and the Birds’ Tribute

Don loved birds. When he was home in the morning, he’d drink his coffee in the screened-in patio and watch the birds at the feeder. His wife left the door slightly ajar so the dogs could enter or go out. Occasionally, a bird would fly in.

Don’s wife had to shoo it out with a broom. No bird had flown out without her help. On the day Don died, at least thirty birds appeared in the patio, flew back and forth, then flew out by themselves. He died about the time the birds said “farewell.”

Encounters with Repo’s Ghost

Repo was a hands-on type of apparition. He was very concerned with safety. He appeared to a captain and told him there would never be another crash. They wouldn’t let it happen.

A woman was sitting next to an Eastern Airlines pilot who looked ill. She called a stewardess. The man disappeared before her and others. She identified Repo from a photograph.
Another woman summoned a stewardess because she was concerned about the unresponsive man in an Eastern Airlines uniform in the seat next to her. The man disappeared in front of both of them and several other passengers. He was Repo.
A stewardess saw a man in a flight engineer's uniform fixing an oven. The plane's flight engineer insisted he hadn’t repaired it. When she saw Repo’s picture, she recognized him.
Stewardess Faye Merryweather saw Repo's face looking out at her from an oven in the galley. She fetched two co-workers, one of whom had been a friend of Repo’s. He recognized him. All three heard Repo warn them to watch for fire. Later, the airplane had serious engine problems and the last leg of the flight was canceled. It was learned that the galley had been salvaged from Flight 401.
A flight engineer was mid-way through performing the routine pre-flight inspection when Repo appeared to him and told him he’d already done the job.

Loft’s Ghost’s Appearances

Loft's ghost was seen on various flights, usually in first class or in the cockpit. He seemed to be content to appear, then vanish.

A stewardess confronted Loft, asking him why he was on the plane. He wasn’t on the passenger list. She reported this to the Captain who walked back with her. He recognized Loft who vanished in front of a dozen witnesses.
A Captain and two flight attendants claimed to have seen and spoken to Loft before take-off and watched him vanish.
One of the vice-presidents of Eastern Airlines spoke to a uniformed captain sitting in first class. Suddenly, he recognized Loft, at which time the apparition vanished.

Flight 401 Ghosts – Final Outcome

Many witnesses were credible. Conclusion was that the apparitions were real. The Federal Aviation Agency has records that fire broke out on the airplane that had Repo concerned.

Eastern Airlines was somewhat skeptical of employees who reported ghostly experiences and suggested they seek psychological counseling at the company's expense. Although the airline refused to cooperate with paranormal investigators, it removed all of the Flight 401 salvaged parts from their aircraft. Repo and Loft were seen no longer.