S4 Ep2: The Ghost of Flight 401

S4 Ep2: The Ghost of Flight 401

From Richard Hatem's Paranormal Bookshelf by Astonishing Legends Productions

February 13, 2026 · 1h 18m · Season 4 · Episode 2

About this episode

The episode explores the haunting of Eastern Airlines Flight 401 and Richard Hatem's personal struggle with a fear of flying.

“A flight attendant was in the lower galley when she happened to glance into the glass window of one of the meal heating units. There was the face of Don Repo, the flight engineer who died in the Everglades crash. He said, “Watch out for fire on this airplane.” – from The Ghost of Flight 401 We’ve all heard of haunted houses -- but a haunted jumbo jet? For over two years, author and journalist John G. Fuller investigated claims that the ghosts of Captain Bob Loft and Flight Engineer Don Repo were appearing to Eastern Airlines flight crews and warning them of mechanical problems on their L-1011s. But how do you prove a story when the airline's top executive’s close ranks -- and employees are threatened with termination for even talking about the supernatural sightings? Richard never had a problem with airplanes until a particularly terrifying flight on the night of July 12th, 2002. Just when his life should have been opening up, this new crippling fear of flying was shutting it down. How do you overcome fear when you’ve spent a lifetime holding it deep inside? And how does Richard navigate a landscape of paranoia, anger, desire and rebellion when everything in his life seems to be…

People in this episode

Host: Richard Hatem

Topics covered

  • ghost stories
  • aviation
  • haunted places
  • fear of flying
  • supernatural sightings
  • personal transformation

Keywords

  • Flight 401
  • haunted airplane
  • John G. Fuller
  • Don Repo
  • Bob Loft
  • fear of flying
  • supernatural
  • aviation history

Sponsors

RHPB

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Eastern Airlines

Places: Everglades

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