Don and I flew on many flights together to Europe on Eastern's MAC Charter (USAF)flights...he as Second Officer and me as First Officer...back in 1967-1969. This crash brought out, once again, that in any emergency or unusual occurrence, the Captain has to designate one pilot to FLY OR MONITOR THE AIRCRAFT and NOT be involved in the actions to remedy the problem. For a It is a shame that the Approach Controller failed to use standard phraseology when he saw the flight only 900 feet from the ground and descending. If he had only Don Repo was a great guy. I didn't know Capt. Loft or the First Officer. I did hear that Capt. Loft had an un-diagnosed brain tumor the size of a golf ball, that was discovered at his autopsy. This could account for his irritability during the problem. Never did get a confirmation of this,however. Thanks again for some great research on this documentary.
few years, I instructed in the EAL flight simulator training program. We emphasized that it was crucial that one pilot would be designated to only fly or monitor the flight of the aircraft.
said, Check your altitude...I show you at 900 feet" it could have saved them.
- Capt. Jim Blackburn (EAL, Ret.)
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