Since the dawn of time, man has yearned to fly. Our quest to soar where only eagles fly has resulted in a worldwide airline system that serves billions of people every year. In the year 2000 alone, 638,902,993 people flew domestically in the United States (Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 2003).
The invention of the airplane has allowed us to travel great distances in a very short amount of time. This said, many people use airlines as their primary source of travel. Each day, people all over the world are traveling overhead in the so-called ‘friendly skies.’
Unfortunately, with any mode of transportation comes great risk. Airline travel is no exception. Although we’ve all heard that it is safer to fly in an airplane than it is to ride in a car, most of us would probably rather take our chances in our automobile. Airline safety does seem to be improving, although accidents do still happen. A recent study states that the odds of being killed while traveling on one of the world’s most reputable airlines are 1 in 7.71 million (BACK Associates, 2003). The odds of being on a flight in which one person dies are 1 in 3.72 million (BACK Associates, 2003).
When looking back over the years, most of us can probably recall at least one tragic airline accident. It’s difficult to tune out the detailed and sometimes graphic coverage the media unleashes on our televisions, radios, and newspapers. Usually, the media uses all its resources to provide coverage of the event for several days. Then, after the initial interest drops off, the media goes back to its ‘regularly scheduled programming.’
As a paranormal researcher, I have always had an interest in reported hauntings aboard airlines. Most likely because we rarely hear of such occurrences. After all, airlines do all they can to convince us we’ll be flying in friendly skies.’ They wouldn’t want to release any information that might change our view of flying. The chances of hearing a report of an airline haunting on your nightly news are slim to none.
Below are links to several websites I have compiled for you. Each link will direct you to an article or website that deals with airline-related hauntings. Much of this information deals with the most notorious airline haunting of all time: Eastern Airlines Flight 401.
On the night of December 29, 1972, Flight 401 crashed into the Everglades while en route from JFK Airport in New York City to Miami International Airport. The L-1011 jumbo jet was piloted by Captain Robert Albin Loft and First Officer Albert John Stockstill, with the assistance of Second Officer Donald Louis Repo. All the men had years of experience and were well respected within their organization.
The accident was eventually attributed to pilot error, and salvageable parts of the plane were reused on other planes in the fleet. A short time later, numerous pilots, flight attendants, and passengers reported seeing the ghosts of Captain Loft and Second Officer Robert Loft on planes using parts from Flight 401. The sightings were so disturbing that one flight was actually cancelled because the crew refused to fly. Eastern, although tight-lipped on the matter, even mentioned the hauntings in an employee newsletter. Ghost or no ghost? I’ll let you decide.
