It is now more than 50 years since the crash of Eastern Air Lines Flight 401, which crashed into the Florida Everglades in December 1972. The aircraft was a Lockheed L-1011-1 TriStar traveling from New York (JFK) to Miami (MIA).

The accident in a nutshell

According to the Aviation Safety Network, Eastern Air Lines flight 401 had 163 passengers and 13 members of crew onboard. The flight was largely uneventful, but on approach to Miami, the flight crew had become fixated on a faulty indication in the cockpit. They had not realized that the autopilot was disconnected, which ultimately caused the plane to lose altitude and crash.

Although 75 people survived, the accident still resulted in the deaths of 101 occupants, including Captain Robert 'Bob' Loft and Flight Engineer Donald 'Don' Repo. Not only was it the first fatal crash involving the Lockheed TriStar, but also a widebody aircraft of any kind. At the time, the tragedy became the second-deadliest air crash in US history, although it now ranks in sixteenth place.

Days later, the wreckage of the aircraft was retrieved from the swamp, and some of its parts were able to be salvaged, including a galley. Those still in a sufficiently usable state were used again on the Eastern Air Lines fleet.

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Spooky sightings

However, after the wreckage had been cleared, reported sightings of Bob and Don began. For example, on one flight, a captain was asked to check on a passenger traveling in first class who was wearing a pilot's uniform. The senior flight attendant said he was dazed and unresponsive when spoken to and was not on the passenger list. The captain reportedly recognized him as being none other than Bob. Flight engineer Don Repo is also said to have appeared onboard flights in a strange, supernatural manner.

Meanwhile, a flight attendant on a New York to Miami flight (coincidentally, the same route of Flight 401 that crashed in December 1972) reportedly opened an overhead locker to find Bob's face peering out at her. On another flight, a flight attendant is said to have seen Don's face on the oven door, and she called two of her fellow crew members in to witness what she had seen. The face reportedly then said, "Watch out for fire in this plane."

On the aircraft's return flight to New York John F. Kennedy International Airport, an engine failed and had to be shut down before it caught fire. On returning to the galley, another flight attendant saw an engineer fixing the oven. She asked the flight engineer later about the oven, and he said that he hadn't fixed it as it didn't need to be fixed.

An unexpected presence

On another day, Don was reportedly seen sitting in the cockpit, warning the operating flight crew of a faulty electrical circuit, which was then found and replaced. There were also reports of Bob having been seen doing his pre-flight checks of the aircraft and telling the ground staff he'd already completed them. The pilot was reportedly unnerved by what had happened and canceled the flight.

While in the cockpit one day, preparing for the flight, another pilot reportedly heard loud knocks from under the floor beneath him. He opened the trap door to see a vision of Don looking at him, which then promptly disappeared. He wanted to look further and reportedly found a problem that could have caused a serious accident.

Although Eastern Air Lines denied any supernatural events, the parts salvaged from the wreckage of Flight 401 are understood to have been removed from the airline's fleet and the sightings reportedly came to an end.

What do you make of this story? Do you believe the sightings were real, or are they urban legends? Share your thoughts by commenting below.