New York - Miami

On December 29, 1972 at 11:42 PM, New York - Miami experienced a crash involving Lockheed L-1011 TriStar, operated by Eastern Airlines, with the event recorded near Everglades National Park Florida.

The flight was categorized as scheduled revenue flight and the reported phase was landing (descent or approach) at a plain, valley crash site.

176 people were known to be on board, 101 fatalities were recorded, 75 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 57.4%.

Crew on board: 13, crew fatalities: 5, passengers on board: 163, passenger fatalities: 96, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is human factor. The flight from New York-JFK was uneventful and the crew started the descent to Miami-Intl Airport by night and good weather conditions. On approach, the captain instructed 'gear down' but all three green lights failed to illuminate properly. The second officer was instructed to enter the forward electronics bay but the problem could not be resolved. The crew informed ATC about the situation and was cleared to climb to 2,000 feet. The crew then discussed to try to find a solution but failed to realize that the airplane was continuing to descend. When a warning sounded in the cockpit indicating a +/- 250 feet deviation from the selected altitude, none of the crew members react to the warning sound and no action was taken. At 2341LT, the crew was instructed by ATC to turn heading 180 and a minute later, the first officer realized that something was wrong with the altitude. Seven seconds later, while turning in a left angle of 28°, the left engine struck the ground then the aircraft crashed in the Everglades National Park, about 20 miles short of runway threshold, and disintegrated on impact. 77 people were rescued while 99 others were killed, among them five crew members. More than a week later, two survivors died from their injuries.

Aircraft reference details include registration N310EA, MSN N193A-1011, year of manufacture 1972.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 25.3679°, -80.8783°.