Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 was a Lockheed L-1011 Tristar 1 jet that crashed into the Florida Everglades on the night of December 29, 1972, causing 101 fatalities (77 initial crash survivors, two died shortly afterward). The crash was a result of the flight crew’s failure to recognize a deactivation of the autopilot during their attempt to troubleshoot a malfunction of the landing gear position indicator system. It is believed that fatigue and poor crew resource management (CRM) contributed to the accident. As a result, the flight gradually lost altitude while the flight crew was preoccupied and eventually crashed. It was the first crash of a wide-body aircraft and, at the time, the deadliest in the United States. After the crash, Flight 401 was also known for reported paranormal activities, supposedly stemming from the salvage of aircraft parts; Eastern Airlines later removed the Flight 401 parts. The effects of this crash on the airline industry continue today and resulted in the development of Crew (or Cockpit) Resource Management (CRM), a technique that requires air crews to divide the work in the cockpit amongst available crew ensuring that someone continues focusing on flying the plane while troubleshooting continues. United Airlines Flight 232 is one of the most well known examples of effective CRM.
