On a personal note, an aircraft that preceded Eastern 66 by just a few minutes pleaded with ground control to change the active runway. ", The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the aircraft's encounter with adverse winds associated with a very strong thunderstorm located astride the ILS localizer course, which resulted in high descent rate into the non-frangible approach light towers. Another flight attendant who survived the crash with her, Robert Hoefler, 29, was in the same hospital with burns and internal injuries. The plane descended out of the sky as pilots were distracted over a landing gear warning light. During the investigation, meteorologist Ted Fujita worked with the NTSB and the Eastern Air Lines flight-safety department to study the weather phenomena encountered by Flight 66. Today the extralarge editions of the morning and afternoon papers, which were filled with news of the disaster and its victims, sold out rapidly. The aircraft was on an ILS approach to the runway through a very strong thunderstorm that was located astride the ILS localizer course. The flight crew consisted of the following: A severe thunderstorm arrived at JFK just as Flight 66 was approaching the New York City area. 39 Louisianians Died In Tuesday's Jet Crash, https://www.nytimes.com/1975/06/26/archives/39-louisianians-died-in-tuesdays-jet-crash.html. The final vector controller responded, "Okay, the shear you say pulled you right and down?" The Captain of Flying Tiger 161 stated that during his approach to runway 22L he entered precipitation at about 1.000 feet, and he experienced severe changes of wind direction, turbulence, and downdrafts between the OM and the airport. wind 210 at 10, altimeter 30.15. They were headed to a meeting with another newspaper in Charleston, W.Va. Also lost were John Merriman, news editor for Walter Cronkite on CBS' Evening News; Harold Newton; vice president of Greenback Stamp Co. in Charleston; and Martin McCarter, manager of horticulture at the Lipton research farm in Charleston. She said her brother got a telephone call at 7 p.m. from a minister at Jamaica Hospital who told her that although her husband was seriously injured in the crash he would survive. . Other Norwegian sailors were on today's Flight 66, which left the city amid a rainstorm, but with what Eastern officials described as a normal passenger load of about 100. Fujita identified "cells of intense downdrafts" during the storm that caused aircraft flying through them "considerable difficulties in landing". "You kind of just had to keep going," said Martha Thornhill, whose 14-year-old son, Ned, was on the plane. At 1604:38.3, N8845E was nearly centered on the glideslope when the flight engineer called, "500 feet." Eastern Air Lines Flight 66 was a regularly scheduled flight from New Orleans to New York City that crashed on June 24, 1975 while on approach to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, killing 113 of the 124 people on board. The aircraft began to drift rapidly to the left, and he eventually had to apply 25 to 30 of heading correction to overcome the drift. . Winds WSW at 20 to 30 mph. [1]:12 The flight operated from New Orleans to the New York City area without any reported difficulty. [6] The accident also led to the discovery of downbursts, a weather phenomenon that creates vertical wind shear and poses dangers to landing aircraft, which ultimately sparked decades of research into downburst and microburst phenomena and their effects on aircraft. It was a few minutes after 4 in the afternoon, well before the section of Rockaway Blvd. correction . I called the Flying Tiger Line Alumni Association and found out it was him, Captain Jack Bliss. Following is a tentative list of passengers on Flight 66, issued by Eastern Airlines: LINDSAY, Jackie, flight attendant McCULLOUGH. air-traffic controllers allowed the planes to land on the runway. Stephen Colbert, who was 10 at the time of the accident and would grow up to become a popular TV political comedian, rarely discusses the tragedy and, through a family member, declined to be interviewed. If mathematical, chemical, physical and other formulas are not displayed correctly on this page, please useFirefox or Safari, A Boeing 727-200 operated by Eastern Air Lines, similar to the accident aircraft. Peter D., second officer supervisor, See the article in its original context from. While the final checklist items were being completed, the captain stated that the radar was, "Up and off . Rolf M. Nesse of the Nopal Tallus, the ship on which four of the seamen, including one survivor, had served. It was a HELL of a thunder storm and moving very fast. Commercials are included.Posted for educational and histo. So I pulled up the NTSB aviation accident report on Eastern Air Lines 66 and read about a Flying Tiger Line DC-8 captain who landed just prior who worried about his ground speed and pleaded with ground control to change the active runway. Two more aircraft landed before Flight 66. The accident was investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). . Survivors: Yes Site: Airport (less than 10 km from airport) Schedule: Richmond - Atlanta - Pensacola MSN: 47184/274 YOM: 1968 Flight number: EA573 Location: Pensacola Florida Country: United States of America Region: North America Crew on board: 4 Crew fatalities: Pax on board: 103 Pax fatalities: Other fatalities: Total fatalities: 0 . My father's in the recovery room. Thirty-five years ago this morning, 82 people -- including 38 from Charleston -- crashed on Eastern Airlines Flight 212, two miles short of the Charlotte runway. Charleston, SC 29403, News tips/online questions: newstips@postandcourier.com, Delivery/subscription questions: subserve@postandcourier.com, var html = new Date().getFullYear(); The NTSB also concluded that failure of either air traffic controllers or the flight crew to abort the landing, given the severe weather conditions, also contributed to the crash: Contributing to the accident was the continued use of runway 22L when it should have become evident to both air traffic control personnel and the flight crew that a severe weather hazard existed along the approach path. Flight 66 traveled from New Orleans to Queens, "I can't tell you much," he said in halting English. However, the crashes of Pan Am Flight 759 in 1982 and Delta Air Lines Flight 191 in 1985 prompted the aviation community to re-evaluate and ultimately accept Fujita's theory and to begin researching downburst/microburst detection and avoidance systems in earnest.[8]. The plane descended out of the sky as pilots were distracted over a landing gear warning light. "Well its difficult, we were only married 20 days, and we were both 26 years old, and she was my first love to be honest with you. I feel badly that we couldn't help the passengers. [2] After the initial impact, the plane banked to the left and continued to strike the approach lights until it burst into flames and scattered the wreckage along Rockaway Boulevard, which runs along the northeast perimeter of the airport. Weather conditions in the area were poor, which meant that the crew had . The flight engineer was 31-year-old Gary M. Geurin, who had been with Eastern Air Lines since 1968 and had 3,910 flight hours, 3,123 of them on the Boeing 727. . I only caught the tail end of the TV show, I never caught his name or the airline he was flying for. . He was formerly quarterback and cocaptain of the Tulane University Sugar Bowl championship team of 1935. "You couldn't even say goodbye to. ", New York Daily News coverage of an airplane crash at JFK airport from Wednesday June 25, 1975. Regret that I never knew who that DC-8 captain was, I wanted very much to contact him one day to thank him. All rights reserved. "I found myself upside down in my seat next to Bob," she continued. 124 people died, there. See the article in its original context from. my mom told me my uncle witnessed this incident and tried to help the survivors. An unidentified crewmember said, "I . Eastern Air Lines Flight 66 was a regularly scheduled flight from New Orleans to New York City that crashed on June 24, 1975 while on approach to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, killing 113 of the 124 people on board. It would be North Carolina's second-worst air disaster, behind the 82 lives lost in a mid-air collision seven years earlier over Hendersonville. Millions of high-quality images, video, and music options are waiting for you. 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On Tuesday June 24, 1975, Flight 66 was operated using a Boeing 727 trijet, registration number N8845E . After the aircraft stopped moving, Weaver found himself upside down and disoriented, looking at the ground below him. Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. One of the crewmembers stated that he was going to check the weather at the alternate airport, which was LaGuardia Airport, Flushing, New York. "We were both seated aft, next to one another," she said. During this encounter, the aircraft deviated rapidly below the glideslope. Multiple legal claims up to $21.5 million would follow. At the time of the accident, there was no SIGMET in effect for the New York City terminal area. Moran turned over to a New York City police sergeant, who drove them to the hospital. Tap into Getty Images' global scale, data-driven insights, and network of more than 340,000 creators to create content exclusively for your brand. Kleven had a total of 17,381 flight hours, including 2,813 hours on the Boeing 727. Today's anniversary won't draw more than a few moments' pause from some of those affected by the tragedy, while others said they think about their losses often, including any time a plane passes overhead. Airlines Flight 66 (Boeing 727), reported high levels of turbulence as Eastern Air Lines flight 66 was a scheduled passenger service from New Orleans International Airport (MSY) in Louisiana (currently known as Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport) to JFK. It happened so fast. [1]:1, Eastern Air Lines Flight 66 was a regularly scheduled passenger flight from New Orleans, Louisiana's New Orleans International Airport (renamed in 2001 to Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport) to John F. Kennedy International Airport in Jamaica, Queens, New York. [1]:3, At 16:05, on final approach to Runway 22L, the aircraft entered a microburst or wind shear environment caused by the severe storms. It's ILS 22L, also." The results of these analyses showed that Eastern 66 probably encountered an increasing headwind as it descended on the ILS glideslope. Eastern Air Lines Flight 665 was a domestic airline flight, on January 12, 1947, using a Douglas C-49-DO, which deviated from its course during a rainstorm, struck high ground a few miles west of Galax, Virginia, and burned, killing all but one of the 19 aboard. At 1604:52.6, the captain said, "I have approach lights," and the first officer said. Then we hit. :12 The flight operated from New Orleans to the New York City area without any reported difficulty. The first officer was 34-year-old William Eberhart, who had been with Eastern Air Lines for nearly nine years. N8845E continued to deviate further below the glideslope, and at 1605:06.2, when the aircraft was at 150 feet, the captain said, "runway in sight." It seemed we were right on the highway. Her message on life: Never take anything for granted. ", At 1602:50.5, the first officer of Eastern 66 said, "Gonna keep a pretty healthy margin on this one." The aircraft kept losing altitude, and its tail struck the runway before the aircraft overran and stopped at a pond. "My God," he asked Hoefler, "are there any survivors?" Iveson B. Noland, the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana, and Edgar A. G. Bright Sr., a businessman and civic leader who was honored as king of the Mardi Gras celebration in 1956, the crash also took the lives of three prominent businessmen and two surgeons, among others. It's fantastic!". According to the conversation recorded by the cockpit voice recorder, the captain of Flight 66 was aware of reports of severe wind shear on the final approach path (which he confirmed by radio to the final-vector controller), but decided to continue nonetheless. "September 11 is a sad day for us and it has been for 35 years.". Frank Ford III, now a local investment advisor, was 22 when he learned his father, Frank Ford Jr., president of Ford's Ready-Mix Concrete Co., was on Flight 212 and wasn't among the survivors. He was administering a required flight check on Geurin. View original page. Fujita's downburst theory was not immediately accepted by the aviation meteorology community. . ", The final vector controller asked Eastern 66 if they had heard Eastern 902's report. Dr. Required Communications Performance (RCP), Fatalities: 6 of 8 crew, 107 of 116 passengers, Airports: (Departure) New Orleans International Airport, LA (MSY, KMSY), Airports: (Destination) New York-John F. Kennedy International Airport, NY (JFK, KJFK), Eastern 66 arrived in the New York City terminal area without reported difficulty, and, beginning at 1535:11, Kennedy approach control (Southgate arrival controller) provided radar vectors to sequence the flight with other traffic and to position it for an instrument landing system (ILS) approach to runway 22L at the Kennedy airport. One woman who lost her teenage son on Flight 212 said she found the strength to go on because there were other children that needed love, guidance, security and a future. And then it was like being in a tornado, I was in the tail and we were rotating, said Beverly Raposa, a flight attendant. . And never go out of the house angry. Read moreCharleston gives Dockside condos extension to address structural problems, The deaths mark Charleston's second and third slayings in just the first 60 days of the year. The Captain you are asking about was Jack Bliss. I believe the captain on that flight, Flying Tiger Line 161, was the person that taught me the minimum ground speed method. Plane went down in a thunderstorm, smashing across Rockaway Blvd., and leaving a trail of bodies in its wake. "You couldn't even say goodbye to each other, that's how fast it happened, said crash survivor Ron Infantino, whose wife Lily died in the crash. Also boarding Flight 66 from New Orleans at noon Tuesday were 19 Norwegian sailors being flown home for vacations after their two ships docked here and in the Port of Baton Rouge. . He has flown west several years back, Im thinking six years ago. [1]:2 Controllers continued giving the crew radar vectors to operate around the approaching thunderstorms and sequence into the landing pattern with other traffic. Medical team cares for Joseph DiSpenza at Jamaica Hospital burn center. The crash also prompted various safety precautions to be added to other U.S. flights. , Post and Courier, an Evening Post Publishing Newspaper Group. . Boards are the best place to save images and video clips. Tell people you love them.