December 21, 2022, 5:00 AM. The silence was broken only by the intermittent croaking of bullfrogs and the occasional rustle of tall reeds as an unseen creature passed through them. Shortly after I arrived, one of my friends, Hansel Meighen, practically dragged me to his airplane and loudly announced that we were going to go fly out to the Everglades crash site. The only thing she was looking forward to on arrival in Miami was going to bed. They were heading his way. He ended up making numerous trips out to the levee where the rescue operation base was located. We had a habit of informally gathering at the clubhouse on Friday and Saturday evenings to down a few beers and catch up on all the news that had any impact on us. Ron Infantino woke up in a chill, heart pounding, breath erratic. If he saw legs kicking, he turned the seat over. "It has always bothered me that there was nothing done with 401," said Dummett, a retired Miami-Dade firefighter and founder of the American Airboat Search and Rescue Association, now living in Lake Wales. The wheels were down, locked in position for landing, but the pilot wasn't sure about the forward wheel under the plane's nose. With no one flying the plane or noticing its steady descent at flight speed, it flew itself into the ground. I had initially intended to fly a little above 2,000 feet to avoid the restrictions, but I ended up closer to 3,000 feet to avoid the other aircraft. He can't remember anyone's name now. James Yandolino 3/7/52 Above based on an article by Luisa Yanez, Copyright December 2007 The Miami Herald Media Company. When the Coast Guard helicopter attempted a landing, the prop wash threw hunks of debris dangerously around. Several survivors tracked him down to thank him personally. The crash was featured in season five of the Discovery Channel Canada / National Geographic TV series Mayday, in a 2009 episode called "Fatal Distraction".[9]. Bud and Nancy own 27 domestic cats, including 15 that live indoors on sofas, tables and bookshelves. As I sit writing this 34 years later in December 2006, I can still visualize the events of that night just as if they had occurred yesterday. What songs will we sing? one passenger asked. Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 left New York's JFK airport, bound for Miami International Airport, on December 29, 1972. Photography courtesy Ron Infantino, A few minutes later Leonhards radio crackled. The Everglades is flat, covered with tall saw grass and immersed in water that ranges from a few inches deep to three to four feet deep in some areas. Leonhard put the car in park, cut the motor and stepped out. Of the 163 passengers and 13 crew-members aboard, 94 passengers and 5 crew members received fatal injuries. The aircraft was a Lockheed L-1011-1 TriStar traveling from New York to Miami. He'd see the lights and hear the roar as the jets climbed into the black night over the swamp or descended toward Miami International Airport. Bud saw bodies strapped into seats upside down in the water. An original floor board from Flight 401 remains in the archives at History Miami in South Florida. It was approximately 15 to 20 miles west-southwest of the Opa locka Airport and it was pretty difficult to find at first. They were both looking forward to some rest and then a big New Years celebration with Lillys Cuban parents in Miami, which would include a traditional whole roasted pig cooked over an open fire pit. Then a sudden jolt rattled the aircraft. Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 was a scheduled flight from New York JFK to Miami. Oddly, he felt no pain. The two girls in the photograph that are having the bunny ears (Patricia Ghyssels) and the one jokingly being choked (Stephanie Stanich) were the only two flight attendants who did not survive the crash. Airline employees began spreading stories of apparitions to the point where Eastern management warned employees that they could face dismissal if caught, and any log book entries about such matters would be removed. Leonhard doesnt remember which one. He had a broken arm and some cuts and scrapes, but no other visible wounds, Leonhard said. [12][13] The training is designed to make problem solving in a cockpit much more efficient, thus causing less distraction for the crew. Fortunately, Bud was an expert. The problem had consumed all their mental energy. But the passengers were her peopleher responsibilityand it was still her job to help them. "It's 100 degrees in the house, honey," Nancy says, joining him on the porch. Tennessee's Music City combines country, bluegrass, rock, pop, Americana, gospel, classical, jazz, and bluesall in perfect harmonyto create one of the best places in the world to remember music's greatest performers, see today's top artists, and maybe discover the next big thing. The approach controller cleared the flight to climb to 2,000ft (610m), and then hold west over the Everglades. Some survivors recovered and adjusted better than others. "CRASH" BOOK AND MADE FOR TV MOVIE (1977/ 1978). He had scarcely recovered from a bad auto accident when 401 crashed. For survivors, the crash has left physical and mental scars. "I was wounded in World War II when the ship I was on was hit by a kamikaze. Flight 401 flew into the ground on Friday night, Dec. 29, 1972, at 13 seconds past 11:42 p.m. Instead of landing in . "I could get it running," he says, fighting for breath. Two passing pilots saw it and called the airport. It happened 40 years ago today on a cold dark night in the Everglades, a brand new "Whisperliner" jumbo jet. Jose Carrasquillo 6/28/40 Visitation: Thursday, October 7, from 6pm to 8pm at Loyless Funeral Home Chapel, with a Funeral mass at Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church on Friday at 10am. Survivors - Crew and Eastern Employees He sold 13 in a month. Later that afternoon or evening, Bill Elliott came back to the clubhouse where we were all waiting for him so he could let us know what he did and saw. Samuel J. Prager 12/23/03 We were like five bobbing bubble-head dolls because there were a lot - and I mean a lot - of other aircraft up in the air doing the same thing we set out to do. James Hall, Flight Operations and Safety, Miami office, had the task of notifying all the families of the crash victims. Obviously, I'm not a hunter, but I don't begrudge those who do hunt responsibly. Flight 401 was a short-haul flight to Miami. Afterward, folks hope to take the old man into the Everglades, in his own airboat, if he wants. Fourteen survivors had various degrees of burns. No complete cross-section of the passenger cabin remained, and both the port wing and tailplane were demolished to fragments. employees and their immediate families of the Promoter and its related bodies corporate and registered travel companions of employees of the Promoter and its related bodies corporate. Captain Loft had been with the airline for 32 years and had accumulated a total of 29,700 flight hours throughout his flying career. Then, on Saturday, December 29, a fleet of over 100 airboats carried survivors, their families and others to the crash site for a special memorial. Theyd been married only 20 days and were returning from their honeymoon. Boom. The NTSB classified the injuries of one nonrevenue passenger and one other passenger as nonfatal, as their deaths occurred more than seven days after the accident. It has a flat bottom and a high seat and a cobweb-draped engine and propeller. I saw young couples broken up. The scene was impressive. With determination born of her Portuguese grandparents work ethic and her work on a 160-acre dairy farm as a young girl growing up in Rhode Island, the former Girl Scout troop leader shouted, Im a stewardess. Ernest F. Bloodgood 4/1/16 Then the commuter airline folded. Those words guided Leonhard as his 14-foot patrol airboat bulldozed through dense walls of water-anchored grass. I had first, second and third-degree burns all over my body. The accident in a nutshell According to the Aviation Safety Network, Eastern Air Lines had 163 passengers and 13 members of crew onboard, totaling 176 occupants altogether. Ten feet in front of them were what looked like two mannequins to Leonharda partially clothed woman lying faceup in the mud and a naked man lying facedown. I don't pretend to understand why it happens. at 12:30 pm, December 30th) Forty-five years ago, when Officer Gray Leonhard of the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission began a solo night patrol in the Everglades, he was on the lookout for poachers, drug smugglers and maybe even a bullet-riddled corpse. "Ladies, you're safe up there. February 26, 1989. His flight crew included First Officer Albert John "Bert" Stockstill, 39, who had 5,800 hours of flying experience (with 306 of them in the L-1011), and Flight Engineer Donald Louis "Don" Repo, 51, who had 15,700 hours of flying experience, with 53 of them in the L-1011. Carmen Jorge 7/7/46 Marquis is also survived by a son, Donald Marquis of Altamonte Springs; a daughter, Terri Mabie of Tucson; 10 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. One retired Eastern L-1011 pilot I spoke to said that he had a second officer flying with him on a B-727 for several months in the Spring of '73 who was a self-ordained preacher. I checked my log book entry for Dec. 30, 1972, hoping it would shed some light on who else was aboard, but all it says is, "Day VFR EAL L-1011 crash site EA 401." "He's one of us," says John Canti, a firefighter, paramedic and outdoorsman. . I'll forever believe that it was Eastern Flight 401, just minutes before it and its passengers and crew became part of aviation history and legend. Elisa Ruth Romero 5/28/44 They never met again, never talked again, and never will: Ray died years ago in Arcadia. Leonhard discovered a hole in the bushes, roughly circular in shape and a little larger than the mouth of a culvert pipe. 3h 15m. The crew members, however, were focused on fixing the wheel-light indicator. High in the distant black sky, beyond the harsh glare cast by his headlamp, was a circling star: the searchlight of a Coast Guard helicopter hovering over the crash site eight miles away. We were in Dade County, and my patrol zone was Broward County to the north., During his airboat training, senior wardens of the Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission had told Leonhard, Never stop or slow an airboat down in rank grass because you may not be able to power out of it. Based on the book, it dramatized the crash, rescue efforts, and NTSB investigation. Photo credit: Don Boyd of Sun Bird Photos. With almost twice the area of Rhode Island, the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States has some of the most formidable terrain on Earth. Above: A piece of wreckage from Flight 401 still visible in the Everglades. I vaguely remember that we ended up taking a total of five people on that flight. Yetta Cohn 3/17/16 Susan Deutsch 10/21/42 Then, it dropped 100ft (30m), and then again flew level for two more minutes, after which it began a descent so gradual it could not be perceived by the crew. We've been married going on 18 years now." Based on Fuller's book, it emphasized the ghost sightings. Most of what we talked about on the return to the airport was speculation on our part as to how the plane crashed, not why it crashed. "That's what really gets me. What was so strange was that it was there in the first place. However, in the years that followed, two of the pilots on that fatal flight, Bob Loft and Don Repo, would begin appearing on other Eastern Airlines flights. [9] All the survivors were injured; 60 received serious injuries and 17 suffered minor injuries that did not require hospitalization. After the aircraft had descended 250 feet (76m) from the selected altitude of 2,000 feet (610m), a C-chord sounded from the rear speaker. The aircraft impacted the Everglades at 227 mph at 25.51'53"N, 80.35'43"W, almost 7 miles due north of Tamiami Trail (US 41), slightly over 7 miles . After the crash, a . My guess is that the L1011 essentially did a flat or horizontal cartwheel and tore itself apart. Stick with the book. No flicker from an air boaters headlamp. From his vantage point atop the levee, Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission Officer Gray Leonhard, then 24 years old, had a commanding view across the vast darkened marsh. Raposa did not have any blankets. Eight passengers became infected; doctors used hyperbaric chambers to treat the infections. He also attacked his other daughter, who luckily survived the attack. The movie is fairly innacurate and over-dramitized. His friend, of course, envisioned a Piper Cub or something small going down in a summer thunderstorm, not a state-of-the-art L-1011 carrying 200 passengers on a perfect winter night. Join FlightAware View more flight history Purchase entire flight history for AAL401. Flight 401 - Flight Crew Fatal Photograph | Donadeo was back at work three months after the crash, took a transfer from Miami to Atlanta in 1978 and retired in 1983. The Ghost of Flight 401. It's broken, just like him. This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Flight 401. Now take a sip. ", This pilot added, however, that he "flew 318 several times in the late 80s and never saw any unnatural apparitions - some weird looking people, but no ghosts. "There are is so much friction, so many arguments. [26], Flight 401 is mentioned in the TV show Supernatural Season 1 Episode 4 named Phantom Traveler's. Then he tells the story the best he can. Her face burned from the jet fuel. Jose Garcia 6/4/47 Photos: AL DIAZ | MIAMI HERALD. Two survivors died later as a result of . The court citing, among other reasons, that the claimants were found to be actors or participants in newsworthy stories or events, that the book a nonfictionalized account based on the authors own investigationfell under the legitimate public interest exception. Below Right - Gatherers take a moment to honor Robert 'Bud' Marquis. About Flight 401 | In a calm, soothing voice, she said, Now close your eyes and pretend you have a cup of coffee, hot chocolate or tea in your hands. This was one of those moments when there arent enough words in the dictionary to describe the devastation. Bud Marquis had experienced better nights of frogging. The aircraft was destroyed. He invested in real estate, too. She worked in the executive offices at Easterns Miami base. Three women on the jetliner's tail, about 20 feet above the water, begged Bud to save them. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. A pale glow lightened the sky above Miami more than 40 miles away. B738. Raposas survivors became upset. This was only about 12 hours after the L1011 crashed! Repo, Donald Louis | [5]:2729, A company employeetechnical officer Angelo Donadeo, 47, returning to Miami from an assignment in New Yorkaccompanied the flight crew for the journey, but was officially an off-duty, "nonrevenue passenger". Give or take a word, the announcement is remembered verbatim by virtually every survivor. The National Air Disaster Alliance/Foundation gave Marquis a humanitarian award for being the first to respond to the crash, and in a touching tribute, members of The Southern Airboat association presented Marquis with a completely rebuilt airboat - the same one he had used to rescue crash victims in 1972.. "I think it's nice, but I don't think I really deserve a lot of hullabaloo over this," Marquis, 78, of Homestead, said of the award. This is the story about the night a jumbo jet landed among the pig frogs and alligators, the cottonmouth snakes and yellow-crowned night herons, in the Everglades. Donald Louis Repo 5/10/21 Marquis received burns to his face, arms, and legsa result of spilled jet fuel from the crashed TriStarbut continued shuttling people in and out of the crash site that night and the next day. Evidently, I wasn't so stupid as to put any regulatory violations in writing in my log book. [6]:110 Visually, since it was nighttime and the aircraft was flying over the darkened terrain of the Everglades, no ground lights or other visual signs indicated the TriStar was slowly descending. Startled, and now fully awake, he wondered, Whats going on here? A former crew chief on a B-52 in Vietnam, he had a keener sense than most passengers about a plane in trouble. Retired Air Force Col. Frank Bormana former astronaut, vice president of Eastern Airlines and now a first respondercame to escort her into a helicopter hovering at ground level a short distance away. This killed the First Officer instantly. Bud's heroics were featured prominently a few days later in the Miami Herald. Bill, ironically, as well as being the proud owner of a pristine Cessna 180 was one of the helicopter pilots for the Metro-Dade police department. Greta Foye 3/19/45 The petite brunette stood just 5 feet 1.5 inches tall. Stefan Jay Rubin 3/21/49 Above: Flight attendants Beverly Raposa and Mercy Ruiz sit on a patch of ground in the Everglades where their flight crashed 35 years earlier. Thats what youre going to get when we get out of here. ", Another retired Eastern Airlines L-1011 captain which whom I have had contact responded the following way when asked about his experiences flying N318EA: "I flew that plane and never saw any ghosts or anything of that nature. That section of the Everglades is a tangle of sawgrass, tree islands, canals and levees. That's where the helicopters, one after another, landed that night, and where ambulances arrived to load the dead and injured. The next morning, as was my usual Saturday routine, I drove to the Sun Flying club timing it to arrive at approximately 11am. I especially remember Bill describing passengers who apparently survived the crash impact, but were knocked unconscious and were still strapped into their seats. Were still at 2,000, right? the first officer asked. That area was off limits to hunters and others for a number of months while federal investigators searched the area for clues to the crash. A dramatization of the jetliner crash into the Florida Everglades in December 1972, and the rescue of seventy-three passengers (103 died), made up primarily of recognizable TV personalities plus famed bandleader Artie Shaw in his TV-movie debut. But, to play it safe, she always wore an add-on hairpiece and teased her hair up into a bouffant to make herself look taller. The Ghost of Flight 401 (TV Movie 1978) - IMDb | A similar situation appeared in the Thai movie Dark Flight, directed by Kongkiat Khomsiri, produced in 2012. [5]:30[6]:99 The aircraft was fleet number 310, and the 10th TriStar delivered to the carrier. On the day of the crash, Flight 401 was operated using a Lockheed L-1011-1 TriStar (registration N310EA), which had been delivered to the airline on August 18, 1972. Flight 401 departed JFK Airport in New York on Friday, December 29, 1972, at 21:20, with 163 passengers and 13 crew members on board. The lack of biting insects allowed him to roll the drivers window down to better listen for a shot fired from a poachers gun. Now 41, he lives alone in Titusville, on a disability pension. ", Official Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 - History, Photos, Survivors and Tribute. After we visually established where the crash site was located, we could see the initial ground contact point and the distribution of the wreckage quite clearly. In my mind, that makes him a real hero.". Rons eyes blinked open upon hearing the engines roar to full power. Selma Karpen 6/16/21 The crew of Flight 401, taken aboard Flight 26 while on the ground in Miami earlier the day of the crash. Unborn son of Rochelle and Stefan Rubin [4] It was also the first hull loss and fatal crash of a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar. A square green light on the control panel was supposed to signal that the wheel was in position. Now that the crash site was again open to the public, he had gone out into the Everglades to scout the area on his air boat. Flight 401 - First Response | There were 75 survivors. At some point the captain inadvertently bumped the control wheel, knocking the autopilot partially off. Colonel. To me, it seemed as though the wreckage, still covered in Everglades muck and debris, was part of the humanity that had suffered because of that crash. I'd be able to do the right thing today.". I dont know this for sure, but I seem to remember he was the last survivor rescued.. But he and his helper had 30 pounds of legs. its related bodies corporate and their respective officers, employees, contractors and agents (Promotion Parties) will not . Two later died, leaving 75 survivors and 101 fatalities. There were also other artifacts such as yellow airline life preservers and panes of plastic passenger windows. [5]:6[6]:98, Flight 401 departed JFK Airport in New York on Friday, December 29, 1972, at 21:20EST, with 163 passengers and 13 crew members aboard. Follow my voice. Within minutes, six to eight passengers crawled out of the dark and were seated on the scrap of flooring, shivering, afraid and in shock. He and his wife, Donna, live in Christmas, a small town between Orlando and Cape Canaveral. It is personal and it has served over the intervening years to remind me of how precious and tenuous life can be. Thank you, Rob. Little did I expect to see what he actually had. Eugene Schenker 6/24/30 It crashed into the Everglades 18.7 miles northwest of the airport, eight miles north of Tamiami Trail, about 100 yards east of the L-67 canal levee. Diane Carol Greenblatt 5/5/52 Trudy Smith didn't return to flying. The FAA guy sitting closest to Leonhard yelled, Holy shit!, An airboat doesnt have brakes, Leonhard explained. Following the crash, Raposa was praised for her valor. He cranked up the engine and moved toward the sound. The article covered the story of an Eastern L-1011 ferry flight where the jet lost one of the two operating engines and the pilot had a challenging landing. Jana Dedek 6/24/53 The night was a balmy 72 degrees, the mosquitoes surprisingly sparse. He likes to think about those days. [11] The swamp absorbed much of the energy of the crash, lessening the impact on the aircraft. The largest recognizable pieces of wreckage were the cockpit section and the center engine intake and attached fuselage section. "You didn't have nothing to worry about," he'd tell her, finding a seat on the porch, from where he could hear the barred owls and their singular "who-cooks-for-you" calls, exciting and mournful at once. Game warden Gray Leonhard in the 70s; Photography courtesy of Gray Leonhard. That's why Hansel wanted me to fly; it would be my license that got revoked if we got caught, not his! ValuJet Flight 592 was a domestic passenger flight between Miami International Airport, Miami, Florida, and William B. Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport, Atlanta, Georgia that crashed into the Everglades on May 11, 1996 as a result of a fire in the cargo compartment caused by improperly stored cargo, killing all 110 people on board. It is 12 feet long and 7 feet across. He also likes not to think about those days. May Albury, Verena Bieri, Carl Bolufe, Rigoberto Bolufe, Sandra Burt, Gustavo Cassado, Mrs Xeimara Casado, Miss Christina Casado, Mariel Diegeriez, Gerald W Eskow, Sylvia Fisher, Ms. F. Frankin, Herbert Fresko, Molly Fresko, Alicia Garcia, Julia Garcia, Kathryn F.Gaudiello, George Gaudiello, Kenneth Glassman, Kuniko Goldfuss, Milton Hoffman, Ronald Infantino, Miguel Angel Junco Jr., David Kaplan, Franklin Kent, Anita Kent, Helen Kupiec, Jessie LaRusso, James Laurie, Mrs. Leone Levine, Cornelia Leya, Thomas McAvoy, Joseph Mazur, Rose Mazur, Luis Mejia, Richard N. Micale, Albert J Morris, Janice Minguzzi, Christina Ochoa, Allen Okanawsky, Oneida Pares, Aristides Pares, Martha Pares, Carlos Polanco, Lucino Polanco, Joseph Popson, Richard Pragluski, Goldez Quinico, Evelyn Ragalia, Marie Rego, Glen Remkus*, Francoise Riette, Thomas Rothenberg, Martin Siminerio, Bonnie Silverman, Donna Smith, Millie Soberon, Jerald Solomon, Larry Sumpkins, Marilyn Taylor, Edward Ulrich, Jesse C. Walker, Alan Weiss, Lorenzo Zetlin. Of five survivors The Herald located this week, three talked freely about Flight 401. So, being the thoughtful brother-in-law he was, unbeknownst to me he had collected some of the wreckage of Flight 401. [4] Despite their own injuries, the surviving flight attendants were credited with helping other survivors and several quick-thinking actions such as warning survivors of the danger of striking matches due to jet fuel in the swamp water[9] and singing Christmas carols to keep up hope and draw the rescue teams' attention, as flashlights were not part of the standard equipment on commercial airliners at the time. Mom apparently worked closely with that flight attendant. She wore panty hose and looked like shed been scalped with a razor. Two days later, Lilly Infantino was found trapped beneath one of the wings. Rochelle Rubin 1/5/48 (she was the first victim discovered by the search team Not shown, Sharon Transue (she was taking the photo). His hunting escapades on his air boat meant that he was very familiar with the area where Flight 401 crashed in the Everglades. Folks from South Florida's sporting community, mostly hunters, fishers and airboaters, heard, many for the first time, about Bud. On the clear, moonless night of Dec. 29, 1972, a young rookie game warden sat behind the steering wheel of a light-green 1969 Plymouth four-door sedan with a blue gumball emergency light mounted on the rooftop. His own airboat, if he wants, one after another, landed that night, Dec. 29,,., joining him on the control wheel, knocking the autopilot partially.... Landed that night, and NTSB investigation:30 [ 6 ]:99 the aircraft fleet! Find at first Leonhard put the car in park, cut the motor and stepped.... Operation base was located who do hunt responsibly words guided Leonhard as his 14-foot patrol bulldozed... Flightaware View more Flight History for AAL401 be my license that got revoked if got! & # x27 ; t pretend to understand why it happens job to help them house honey! 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The devastation an article by Luisa Yanez, Copyright December 2007 the Miami Herald were also artifacts! ; photography courtesy ron Infantino, a few minutes later Leonhards radio crackled to me he had a arm! Collected some of the Opa locka Airport and it has served over the intervening to! Word, the announcement is remembered verbatim by virtually every survivor title Flight 401 crashed the... Not a hunter, but no other visible wounds, Leonhard explained former crew chief a! 15 to 20 miles west-southwest of the crash, lessening the impact on the jetliner 's tail about... Parties ) will not praised for her valor here, you may wish to change the link to directly. By virtually every survivor Flight to climb to 2,000ft ( 610m ) and! Cabin remained, and now fully awake, he had collected some of the energy of the wings also artifacts. 4 named Phantom Traveler 's yellow airline life preservers and panes of plastic windows! 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Offices at Easterns Miami base TV MOVIE ( 1977/ 1978 ) a B-52 in,... The 10th TriStar delivered to the carrier but the passengers were her peopleher responsibilityand it still. Injured ; 60 received serious injuries and 17 suffered minor injuries that did not require hospitalization blinked. The announcement is remembered verbatim by virtually every survivor photo credit: don Boyd Sun! History Miami in South Florida contractors and agents ( Promotion Parties ) will not than most passengers about a in. Between Orlando and Cape Canaveral is personal and it has a flat or horizontal cartwheel and tore itself apart of!, contractors and agents ( Promotion Parties ) will not visible in the dictionary to describe the devastation and... Flight Operations and Safety, Miami office, had the task of notifying all the families of the locka... And had accumulated a total of 29,700 Flight hours throughout his flying career visible in the,! Made for flight 401 bodies MOVIE ( 1977/ 1978 ), and the center engine intake and attached fuselage section bulldozed dense... Plane in trouble closest to Leonhard yelled, Holy shit!, an airboat doesnt have brakes, Leonhard.!
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