World Airways flight 30 landed at Logan Airport on January 23, 1982, in the middle of an ice storm. The plane touched down late on a slippery runway, sliding into Boston Harbor and breaking in half. The passengers and flight attendants pulled off an impressive self rescue, and fewer than 40 of the 198 passengers and 12 crew were hospitalized. While the FAA, Massport, and World Airways all argued publicly about who was to blame for the accident, they all agreed that it was a miracle that nobody had been killed in the crash… Or had they?
The missing passengers of flight 30
- NTSB accident report for World Airways Flight 30
- Coverage in the Boston Globe
- Jan 24: initial crash, victim reactions
- Jan 25: first person accounts from survivors, pics
- Jan 26: the investigation begins in earnest
- Jan 27: Now two missing; family couldn’t get any answers
- Jan 28: two men still missing
- Jan 29: airline ordered to produce passenger list, (P1) survivor thinks he heard the Metcalfs
- Jan 30: pilots were using outdated weather data
- Jan 31: preparing to lift fuselage, divers find no trace of Metcalfs
- Feb 2: Metcalfs were on no-show list, used flight coupons
- Feb 4: Divers suspend search for Metcalfs
- Feb 18: timeline and transcripts
- Feb 27: detailed transcript
- Apr 1: Metcalf memorial mass planned
- Apr 7: last victim released from MGH
- May 21: interview with Audrey Metcalf
- Jan 1983: Audrey Metcalf sister a year later
- Coverage in the New York Times
- Initial coverage of the crash on January 24, 1982.
- News of the missing Metcalfs breaks on January 27, 1982
- Audrey Metcalf reflects on the second anniversary of the accident.
Boston Book Club
The website New England Aviation History is a terrific resource and inspiration for any topic related to aviation, especially the early years. We’ve used their articles to help prep for our episodes about the 1910 Boston Harvard Aero Meet, about Amelia Earhart in Boston, and about early balloonists in Boston. The site has sections devoted to plane crashes and other aviation accidents, unsolved mysteries of the air, and aviation history. Within the history section, I’m particularly fond of the subdivisions having to do with long forgotten airports, the airships, flying machines, and general contraptions that early pioneers used to take to the skies… or at least to make an attempt, and the aviation “firsts” that happened in New England.
One notable first is an article about the first balloon ascent in Boston. After taking off from Washington Gardens on Tremont Street, aeronaut Louis Charles Guille crash landed at Ten Hills Farm in Somerville. The flight led to the first aviation-related lawsuit in the Bay State, because the landing destroyed a farmer’s crops. It’s remarkable that even this brief article is backed up by four sources.
If you’re a fan of early aviation, this is a site for you.
Upcoming Event
History Camp Boston is coming up on Saturday, March 14. History Camp is billed as an “unconference,” with no pre-defined theme, and no gatekeepers deciding who gets to present on what topic. Nikki and I have been attending since the first History Camp in 2014, and we’ve learned a lot about the history of Boston, and the world, in the years since. Over the years, The range of expert presenters goes way beyond what you’d find at an academic conference, and the best part is that you don’t need any special credentials or membership to attend. Any old nerd like you or me is welcome.
I’ll be appearing on a panel with fellow podcasters Michael Troy, of the American Revolution Podcast; Ed O’Donnell of In the Past Lane; Susan Otchere Stevenson of American Epistles; and Liz Covart of Ben Franklin’s World. There will also be talks by past podcast guests JL Bell, Eric Peterson, Lori Lyn Price, Shawn Quigley, and Barbara Berenson. I’ll be hoping to reconnect with old friends, meet some of our fans and social media contacts, and recruit future guests to bring on the show.
Note: Unfortunately, History Camp Boston sold out between the time this episode was recorded and when we released it. Bookmark the link and make sure you sign up early next year!
Transcript
Jake:
[0:04] Welcome Toe Hub history, where we go far beyond the Freedom Trail to share our favorite stories from the history of Boston, The Hub of the Universe.
This is Episode 1 75 The Disappearing passengers of Flight 30.
Hi, I’m Jake. This week I’m gonna be talking about a terrifying 1982 plane crash at Boston’s Logan Airport.
World Airways Flight 30 landed on a winter night in the middle of an ice storm.
The plane touched down late on a slippery runway, sliding into Boston Harbor and breaking in half.
The passengers and flight attendants pulled off an impressive self rescue, and fewer than 40 of the 198 passengers and 12 crew had to be hospitalized, while the F A, a.
Massport who operate Logan Airport and World Airways, all argued publicly about who is to blame for the accident.
They all agreed that it was a miracle that nobody had been killed in the crash or had they.
But before we talk about the disappearing passengers of Flight 30 it’s time for this week’s Boston Book Club selection and our upcoming historical event.
[1:10] My pick for the Boston Book Club this week is the website New England Aviation History.
It’s a terrific resource and inspiration for any topic related to aviation, especially the very early years we’ve used their articles to help prep for our episodes about the 1910 Boston Harvard Aargh Me,
about Amelia Earhart in Boston and about early balloonists here in Boston.
The site has sections devoted the plane crashes and other aviation accidents, unsolved mysteries of the air and aviation history Within the history section.
I’m especially fond of the subdivisions having to do with long forgotten airports, the airships, flying machines and general contraptions that early pioneers used to take to the skies, or at least to make an attempt to take to the skies,
and the aviation firsts that happened here in New England.
One of my favorite aviation first on the site is this 2017 article about the first balloon flight in Boston, which was notable for resulting in the first aviation lawsuit.
[2:14] The earliest known balloon ascension to take place in the state of Massachusetts occurred on September 3rd, 18 21 from the Washington Gardens on Tremont Street in Boston.
The pilot was a well known Ahronot by the name of Louis Charles Guille, who had begun making balloon. Ascension is in New Jersey. In 18 18.
[2:34] The balloon landed at 10 Hills Farm in Somerville, a town just to the north of Boston.
Not only was this flight the first of its kind in the Bay State, but it also triggered what might be the first lawsuit involving a balloon.
10 Hills Farm was owned at the time by a man named Swan who sued Ahronot deal for damage to his vegetable crops.
The facts of the case were stated in a newspaper article, which appeared in The New Ulm Review, a Minnesota newspaper, on December 21st 1910 as part of an article about the potential liability attached to air travelers who may,
inadvertently caused damage to private property on the ground.
The case involving Louis Charles deal what cited as a precedent, even though it had occurred 89 years earlier.
The article stated in part, the facts are there, state of this follows.
She’ll ascended in a balloon in the vicinity of Swan’s Garden and descended into his garden when he descended. His body was hanging out of the car, the balloon in a very perilous situation.
And he called to a person at work in Swansfield to help him in a voice audible to the pursuing crowd after the balloon descended that dragged along over potatoes and radishes about 30 feet.
When Jill was taken out, the balloon was carried to a barn at the farther into the premises.
[3:53] When the balloon descended, more than 200 persons broken to Swan’s garden through the fences and came on his properties, beating down his vegetables and flowers.
The damage done by Jill with his balloon was about $15 but the crowd did much more.
The plaintiff’s damage in all amounted to $90.
It was contended before the justice that Jill was answerable only for the damage done by himself and not the damage done by the crowd.
The justice was of the opinion and so instructed the jury that the defendant was answerable for all the damage done to the plaintiff.
The jury, accordingly found a verdict for him for $90 on which the judgment was given, and for costs.
The sum of $90 was a significant amount of money in 18 21 Jill appealed, but the decision was upheld.
The court ruled, in part that Shell was a trespasser, although not intentionally, and that his shots for help quote induced the crowd to follow him, which in turn made him liable.
[4:57] See even that brief peace is backed up by four sources, which is indicative of the quality of research you’ll find on the site.
If you’re in early. Aviation buff, New England aviation history is definitely worth your time to browse.
[5:11] And for our upcoming event this week, we’re featuring History Camp Boston, which is coming up on Saturday, March 14 History Campus.
Billed as an unconfident CE with no predefined theme and no gatekeepers deciding who gets to present on what topic,
Nick and I have been attending since the first history camp in 2014 and we’ve learned a lot about the history of Boston and the world in the years since,
Over the years, the range of expert presenter goes way beyond what you’d find in an academic conference.
And the best part is that you don’t need any special credentials or special memberships to attend any old nerd like you or me is welcome.
[5:54] I’ll be appearing there on a panel with fellow podcasters Michael Troy of the American Revolution podcast Ed O’Donnell of In the Past, Lane, Susan Oh, Chair Stevenson of American Epistles and Liz Covert of Ben Franklin’s World.
There will also be talks bypassed podcast guests JL. Bell, Eric Peterson, Lori Lynn Price, Shawn Quigley and Barbara Berenson.
I’ll be hoping to reconnect with old friends, meet some of our fans and social media contacts and to recruit future guests to bring on the show.
As of the time of this recording, there are still tickets available, but history camp always sells out.
Register now at History camp dot or ge slash Boston To make sure you can attend before I move on with the show, I want to pause and say, Thanks to our most recent patri on supporter, Richard L.
And a longtime sponsor, Michelle S, for doubling our monthly support from the Louis Hayden level toe are top tier.
The Abigail Adams level supporters like Michelle and Richard make it possible for us to create this podcast by signing up to sponsor Hub history for $2.5 dollars or even $10 a month.
They allow us to pay for website hosting, insecurity, audio processing tools, automatic transcription and podcast media hosting.
[7:14] In return, we have special perks for our Amelia Earhart, Louis Hayden and Abigail Adams supporters toe. Learn more.
Just goto patri on dot com slash hub history or visit hub history dot com and click on the Support US lank.
Thanks again to all our new and returning sponsors and now the Hub History Podcast Players recreate for you the last moments of World Airways Flight 30 as captured by the cockpit voice recorder.
Music And Clips:
[7:47] Boston Tower. World 14 World 30 Heavy approaching the outer marker. The final approach fix over World 30 Heavy Boston Tower.
Good evening, sir. You are cleared to land. Runway 15 Right.
Wind is 180 at three.
World 30 heavies cleared The land. 15 Right. We’re clear to land. Flight attendants, take your seats, please.
[8:15] Final approach. Fix out two checks. No flags.
Altitude checks. No flags. Flaps 35 before landing. Checklist. Flight guidance panel check checked here. Lights.
I don’t agree. Enunciator panel spoilers aren’t flaps and slats.
35 35 Landline before landing is complete.
[8:45] 7100 feet to minimums grounded in sight. Roger.
[8:51] Runaways in sight. Slightly left. 500 feet. 400. 300.
200. 100 50.
40. 30. 20 10.
[9:13] 129. No breaking 100 knots. 80 knots. No breaking.
[9:23] 69. We’re going off the end.
Our world going off the end. World 30 Heavy off the answer. Are you able to right turn?
[9:37] Roger, sir. Uh, modifying the Boston Fire Department.
Jake:
[9:42] Flight 30 flew from Oakland, California, to Newark International Airport on Saturday, January 23rd 1982 before connecting on to Boston.
It was a typically terrible winter evening in Boston, with average temperature Logan slowly dropping from the days high near 40 degrees to an overnight low in the single digits.
At the same time, snow showers switched over to sleep and then to rain even as the temperature fell.
[10:10] Anyone who’s driven on highways around Boston and similar conditions knows that that’s a recipe for black ice.
But instead of, say, a Honda Accord going 55 on the Mass Pike, the crew of Flight 30 fund themselves behind the controls,
of a £300,000 McDonald Douglas DC 10 and it was traveling at almost 140 miles an hour when it touched down on Runway 15 are,
earlier in the evening, the runway had been briefly closed for snow and ice removal.
However, the National Transportation Safety Board accident report makes it clear that those efforts were only partially and temporarily successful.
[10:49] About one hour 48 minutes before the accident, the pilot of a Piedmont Airlines Be 7 27 reported that breaking was fair to poor.
He was the first pilot to land after the runway have been reopened at 5 36 At 6 49 in Northwest B 7 47 pilot landed and reported the braking as fair to poor.
Nine minutes later, however, a Delta DC eight pilot reported breaking as Porta Nil.
In a written statement submitted after the accident, he said that he landed in the normal touchdown zone, applied full reverse thrust and minimized brake applications for controllability.
He recalled that the last 1000 feet of the runway was very slippery, and he found wheel breaking ineffective.
[11:36] At 703 of British Airways, Lockheed L 10 11 pilot reported to the tower that because of runway slipperiness, he was having trouble aligning the airplane with the runway for takeoff.
At 7 28 a Northwest Airlines DC 10 landed and reported the braking as poor.
This pilot stated later that after landing, he activated reverse thrust on all three engines as quickly as possible, and the engines spooled up evenly when he applied wheel breaking, he did not feel any deceleration.
He stated that he would have normally started out of reverse thrust at 80 knots.
But because of noticeably high roll out speed when 3000 feet of runway remained, he left the three engines in the reverse thrust range.
As the airplane slowed, the number three engine compressor stalled and the engine temperatures exceeded limits, he recalled. Braking and steering difficulty has he turned the airplane onto the taxiway At the end of the runway.
[12:33] World Airways pilot Peter Langly and co pilot Donald Herzfeld soon encountered the same stretch of runway that other crews have described as having poor or nil braking.
So it would be revealed that nobody had given them an updated weather report or passed along the other pilots observations.
After reversing the engines and standing on the brakes, Langley saw that the end of the runway was coming up fast in the windscreen and you made the difficult split second decision to veer left off the runway and into the grass.
This allowed the plane to avoid a wooden structure supporting the landing lights, the guide incoming flights in, but it took them down an embankment and into the water.
The NTSB accident report describes the last seconds of Flight 30 in more detail.
[13:16] The air plane touched down at 7 35 Immediately upon touchdown, the captain realized that the runway was very slippery.
He recognized the slipperiness by the gentle, sliding contact of the landing gear with the runway.
He was aware that the ground spoilers, which automatically deploy on main wheel spin up, had not extended after the landing.
Whoever has the nose wheel was lowered to the runway, and the engines were put into reverse thrust range. The ground spoiler’s deployed.
Several seconds later, the captain applied full reverse thrust on all engines and fully depress the brake pedals where he held them throughout the landing roll.
At 7 36 about 11 seconds after touchdown, the captain called out no breaking, which was followed 14 seconds later by a second no breaking call out.
He did not experience directional control problems. Other, we had little steering control.
About nine seconds later, he remarked that the airplane was going to go off the end of the runway, and the first officer immediately notified the tower controller.
When the captain realized that he could not stop the airplane on the runway he stirred. It’s the left to avoid the runway 33 l approach like Pierre.
Four seconds later, at 7 36 and 40 seconds, Flight 30 Heavy went over the sea wall and into Boston Harbor.
As far as I can tell, the plane was still going about 70 miles an hour when it hit the water and came to an abrupt stop.
[14:43] On January 25th 1 passenger told the Globe that she hadn’t even looked out the window as the plane descended.
So the first time she realized that something was wrong was in a wave of water swept through the passenger compartment from front to rear, reaching her seat in the back of first class.
Another passenger, a man from London who was sitting in the second row, reported on January 24th.
The pilot kept reversing the engines, but the plane wouldn’t stop.
The next thing I knew there was a big bump in the front. Disappeared water was lapping right at my feet.
I almost couldn’t believe it. But I saw the two stewardesses and the captain in front of me in the water. Another guy help me and we pull them ashore.
[15:23] Pilot Peter Langly and co pilot Donald Herzfeld weren’t the only ones who found themselves in the water.
As the plane hit the water at the end of the runway, the fuselage came to a sudden stop while the cockpit decided to keep going.
The plane ruptured right at the first row of seats, and the cockpit was flung out into the water.
One passenger also found himself ejected from the plane. As he explained to the Globe, We’re moving. So didn’t fast that I knew something was wrong. My seatbelt flew open. I flew three seats over. It just felt like it was moving too fast for landing.
There was no warning from the pilot. The crew told us to sit down, sit down, but people were running around. They were in a panic.
When we came out of the skid, I was in the water. I started swimming in about three feet of water. Then I was on the bank and I help some people out.
The evacuation was terrible. Most people have no shoes.
[16:16] The official accident report. Elaborate CE Because of the reduced visibility, traffic controllers in the Logan Tower lost sight of Flight 30 heavy as it reached the end of Runway 15 are.
After the first officer’s last transmission. Local and ground controllers radioed for confirmation of Flight 30 heavies location.
Upon receiving no response, the tower supervisor activated the emergency alarm to the airport fire department and the airport was closed to air traffic.
The crash fire rescue facilities of the airport responded immediately.
The airplane had stopped in shallow water at the edge of the harbor, 110 feet left of the runway centerline and midway between the approach light Pierre and the large granite stone blocks, which line the top of unearth an embankment.
[17:01] The 30 foot gravel and mud slope dropped about 10 feet from the top of the embankment to the shoreline.
Under the airplane, the muddy harbor bottom continued in a gradual five foot slope As Flight 30 heavy entered the water, the wing mounted engines were flooded and stopped running.
However, the centerline engine continued to run it full reverse thrust.
At the time of the accident, the water was four feet deep at the bottom of the four, our exit door evacuation slide and two feet deep between the right wing tip and the shore.
The airplane was candidate, the right of the shoreline and the distance between the right wing tip and the shore was less than four feet inside.
The aircraft passenger struggled to hear each other, and the flight attendants, as the Plains third engine mounted high on the tail, continue to run it full throttle.
Strange smelling fumes filled the cabin, and many worried about a possible explosion, not realizing the cockpit had broken off and taking the pilots with it.
The flight attendants at first urged everyone to stay seated and wait for instructions only after passengers from the front of the cabin rushed back and began trying to open the emergency exits.
Did the flight attendants realize that they were on their own?
[18:13] Finally, the flight attendants and passengers opened the six emergency exits, deploying the inflatable slides.
Seeing that the right wing was nearly onshore, the passengers began making their way down the slides. In the right side.
The engine that was still running blasted them with ice, sand and pebbles as they went, depending on which slide they went down.
Some could walk down the wing and nearly step onto shore, while others waited chesty through 34 degree water choked with ice floes to Logan Airport.
Snowplow drivers were the first on the scene after being shocked by the sight of a plane going off the runway, swerving to avoid the landing lights and crashing into the harbor.
They raced to the edge of the water as they pulled the first passengers out of the water and put them in the truck cab to warm up 10 fire trucks.
A dozen ambulances for emergency buses and a Coast Guard patrol boat converged on the scene.
Firefighters and state troopers waded into the water to help frigid passengers get to shore.
Another trooper boarded the plane with flight engineer William Rogers while he finally shut down that third engine that have been drowning out all attempts at communication.
[19:21] Before long, emergency divers were in the water looking for stragglers.
Interviews with passengers said that the evacuation was complete within 20 minutes of the plane hitting the water.
The director of public safety at Massport commented. The real heroes were the passengers. I’ve never seen a more orderly evacuation.
There was absolutely not a panic. All we did was direct comfort and find some shelter for them.
[19:47] Meanwhile, inside the airport, waiting, family and friends were told that the flight had been delayed.
Some of those who are waiting went up to a rooftop observation deck to watch police cruisers and ambulances tear down the runway.
But the airline didn’t confirm that there was a problem until after people called home to report the delay, and family members at home told them that they’d heard about a crash on the news,
Back then, Loved ones could wait for incoming passengers at the gate, and there are soon a chaotic scene at Gate six.
A World Airways spokesman at first said that there were no injuries then that there were some injuries but no deaths, while state troopers attempted to push back the angry crowd.
[20:27] In the aftermath of the crash, 39 people were rushed to area hospitals, including 33 passengers and crew and six rescue workers.
They suffered from everything from concussions and neck pain to acute hypothermia.
One of the worst cases was a 33 year old flight attendant who put on a life vest and went down the evacuation slide on the wrong side of the airplane.
She wound up in deeper water and floated there alone for almost 1/2 hour.
Her body temperature had fallen to 83 degrees by the time she got to MGH for emergency rewarming.
She was still in the hospital 48 hours later, as were a 27 year old passenger with a fractured spine.
Pilot Peter Langley, who was badly bruised in the cockpit, separated from the rest of the plane, and a 56 year old passenger suffered a possible heart attack during the evacuation at 11:45 p.m.
About four hours after the crash, Massport told the press that all 195 passengers had either checked in at the emergency shelter at the airport or been registered at local hospitals.
The passenger total was later increased toe 1 98 to include three infants who had been traveling without tickets.
Everyone was accounted for.
[21:41] The initial reports on the crash in the January 24th Globe marveled at how lucky the outcome waas.
No one was killed or critically injured, although at least 40 people, including the pilot and copilot, were taken to area hospitals.
Most were released after treatment for immersion and minor injuries.
However, one passenger, a woman who was submerged for 1/2 hour was in an intensive care unit for treatment of acute hypothermia.
Everybody is accounted for, Sergeant Herbert Hall of the state Police at Logan said late last night.
There are no bodies floating around or anything like that. We’re missing two, but they missed the flight.
[22:18] Because America is a litigious nation. The finger pointing began immediately.
World Airways said that Massport hadn’t adequately de iced runway 15 are, and they should have stopped incoming flights if they couldn’t provide safe runways.
Massport said that the runway was fully sanded and safe. Other flights had landed without incident that night, and the World Airways pilots it obviously made an error and touchdown left of the centre line.
When the evacuating passengers and first responders told the newspapers that the runway was so I see they couldn’t even stand up on it, a Massport spokesperson responded testily.
I don’t think the passengers qualified to say whether a runway is safe or not.
The people who maintain those runways say they were safe and conditions air checked virtually every minute.
[23:05] The National Transportation Safety Board, for their part, basically told everyone involved to shut up until they had a chance to investigate.
On Tuesday, the 26th Massport in the airline continued to trade barbs while agreeing that everyone involved was very lucky that there haven’t been any fatalities on the doomed Flay.
In the meantime, comments to the press indicated that the NTSB was beginning to focus on how far down the runway the plane touched down,
Runway 15 ours 10,081 feet long and total just a tad short of two miles.
It’s displaced Threshold, however, is only 9191 feet.
What’s that? You’re not familiar with the term displaced threshold, you fool.
Just kidding. I’ve never heard of it either. Before researching this episode, the displaced threshold is essentially how much of an airport runway is allowed to be used for landing.
If you look out the window while circling over an airport or look at a runway on Google Earth, you’ll see that many have a series of white hash marks partway down the length, marking a point beyond which landing flights are allowed to touch down.
Sometimes these restrictions were put in place for reasons like noise abatement, and sometimes they’re intended to help landing flights avoid obstructions on the ground that a departing flight would easily clear.
[24:26] The NTSB accident report revealed that visibility from the ground was cut off by low lying clouds at 800 feet.
Several flights had to go around twice tow line up on the runway correctly, the report says.
In the hour before the accident, four pilots had executed missed approaches.
At 6 47 a Piedmont Airlines be 7 27 200 made a missed approach to Runway 15 are when the airplane was not in a position to make a normal descent to the runway.
At that time, the ceiling was reported to be a measured 800 feet, with visibility at two miles.
At 6 54 a Republic Airlines be 7 27 200 made a second missed approach to Runway 15 are when the airplane broke out of the overcast at a point from which the pilot could not complete the landing.
[25:13] At 706 and Northwest Airlines DC 10 pilot from the ceiling ragged of M D A.
With visible precipitation, he saw the run, wait about two miles and made a missed approach.
Thes three airplanes completed their second approach successfully at 709 The fourth airplane, an American B 7 27 100 which did not have the runway in sight.
It’s 780 feet, was directed to make a missed approach when a British Airways L 10 11 had difficulty taking position for departure on Runway 15 are his second descent to M D. A. Was similar to the first.
He did not have runway contact upon first reaching 780 feet.
However, he subsequently cited the runway and was able to complete its landing.
[25:57] With that low ceiling of visibility, the pilots of Flight 30 were approaching the airport at a lower angle. Then prudence would normally call for, so they’d be sure of having plenty of time to visually locate the runway and line themselves up.
Earlier in the flight, they’ve been wrestling with an automatic throttle system and didn’t realize that they were now approaching at a higher speed than recommended.
This combination of factors meant that instead of touching down near the displaced threshold markers and having a mile and 3/4 to stop in, they overshot the hash marks by 2800 feet, losing almost 1/3 of the usable stopping distance of the icy runway.
The NTSB is final. Conclusion said that there was blame enough to go around.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the accident was the minimal breaking effectiveness on the ice covered runway.
The failure of the Boston Logan International Airport management to exercise maximum efforts to assess the condition of the runway toe assure continued safety of landing operations.
The failure of air traffic control to transmit the most recent pilot reports of braking action to the pilot of Flight 30 heavy,
and the captain’s decision to accept and maintain an excessive airspeed derived from the auto throttle speed control system during the landing approach, which caused the airplane to land about 2800 feet beyond the runways displaced threshold.
[27:20] That final report wasn’t published until the summer of 1985 3 years later, while the parties involved continued to snipe at each other in the press in the week following the accident,
well, Massport, the FAA and World Airways bickered.
Audrey Metcalf of Dead Um, spent days on the phone with each organization, trying to get somebody to listen to her.
Her 70 year old father, Walter Metcalf, and her 40 year old brother, Leo, had been on vacation in Port ST Joe, Florida Together, they’re flying People’s Express from Tallahassee to Newark, and then their connection to Boston got canceled due to the bad weather.
When the two didn’t show up it Logan. On Saturday night, the family began to worry, and Audrey began calling the airline.
As you might expect, she had trouble getting through, and when she did, she was told that her father and brother were not on the flight.
[28:13] The family considered whether Walter and Leo might have taken a train up from Newark, but Sunday past, and there was no sign of them.
On Monday, after being told again by the airline that all passengers were accounted for, Archery attempted to file a missing persons report with the denim police, but she was told that she had to file it in Florida, where they were last seen.
Finally, she was able to get a passenger manifest from Flight 30 through means she was never willing to reveal There were the names of her father and brother.
On Tuesday morning, about 60 hours after the crash, she presented her findings to state police troopers at Logan Airport and managed to get them to take her seriously.
That afternoon, police boarded the wrecked aircraft again and found Walter Metcalf’s carry on bag and passport.
On Wednesday, divers went back into the water looking for any sign of the pair.
[29:05] After passengers from the canceled People’s Express flight were transferred, the world the Metcalf somehow didn’t make it onto the updated passenger manifest.
They were seated in seats, one B in one C, right along the line where the fuselage split.
Their seats went into the water along with the cockpit.
Either man could swim.
[29:27] Now that officials were openly acknowledging that two people from the flight were missing a number there, Fellow passengers reported having seen them in struggling in the water, or at least having seen somebody they believed to be the Met.
Cafs, a 19 year old student who’d been seated right behind them, said that after the row of seats in front of them disappeared, he wondered what had happened to the three men sitting in them.
A 25 year old tough Stendhal student told the Globe that he’d seen somebody struggling as he pulled somebody else out of the water and back into the few Salah SJ quote.
The person appeared to be frantically trying to swim. I said, Oh my God, I can’t believe this he said. He reported a possible drowning to the state police and Massport, but they later denied having received any such reports.
[30:12] Perhaps the most grim statement of all came from a 36 year old management consultant who’d been seated in the first row of the cabin next to the Met CAFS.
When the plane hit the icy water, he recalled being one of seven people thrown into the water.
He lost his glasses on impact and then struggled with this seatbelt is his hands grew numb.
Finally, he managed to release the buckles seconds before his seat sank below the surface.
He said that another passenger helped him grab onto something solid to help him float. Then the flight attendants yelled at him to swim to the left.
But I decided they didn’t know what they were talking about, because that was towards the open water. He decided to turn right.
There were other people to the left, and I have to assume it was the Metcalf’s. I could hear them.
Everybody was yelling, Help us, Help us, he said. He followed a white blur that swam by and ended up being helped into the few Salah Jai.
He went down the slide to the wing and down the wing, to the shore and into a waiting ambulance, he told the Globe.
I told a policeman I told him, Medic and I told the ambulance driver that there were still people in the water and they said, Yes, we know there are people working on it.
Then I saw the Metcalf’s in your newspaper, I guess the worst feeling I have is, If I hadn’t lost my glasses, I would have been able to see I would have been able to help.
[31:33] On Friday, January 29th 6 days after the accident, divers were methodically sweeping the area upto 100 yards from the plane, looking for any sign of the Met cafs.
Meanwhile, debris from the plane began washing up all over Massachusetts Bay and even as far away as the ocean side of the outer Cape between Truro and Wellfleet, helicopters began tracing arcs between Boston Harbor and P Town.
While police combed the beaches of the Boston Harbor Islands, the chances of recovering the bodies of the missing men began to seem remote.
[32:07] It wasn’t until February 2nd that the airline would acknowledge that Leo on Walter Metcalf had handed their boarding passes to the gate agent upon boarding Flight 30 and one of the airlines staff had simply for gotten across their names off the list of no shows.
In the meantime, the wreckage of Flight 30 have been removed from the end of Runway 15 are leaving no visual reminders of the accident.
On February 4th, rough seas and increased ice floes made diving in the harbor impossible. The search for the Metcalf’s bodies was called off.
On April 3rd, the family held a memorial Mass at ST Mary’s Church in debt. Um, the last victim, the 27 year old with a fractured spine, was discharged from MGH on April 7th.
[32:52] On the first anniversary of the crash, Audrey Metcalfe told The Boston Globe that she wasn’t satisfied with the results of the NTSB investigation.
All they care about is how the plane crashed. I knew the plane crashed.
I wanted to know about the rescue. They didn’t focus on my father and brother, even on how many people were on the plane.
That’s what I’m still angry about.
The family filed a $25 million wrongful death suit, which eventually settled for an undisclosed amount.
On the second anniversary of the crash, Audrey sounded more resigned and comments she gave to The New York Times.
Knowing that they’re out there somewhere in the ocean is very hard. They feared the water terribly.
For both of them. To die that way was terrible. I know that they’re dead.
It’s not that I had their names put in the headstone where my mother’s buried, but it’s very hard to see their names there and know that their bodies aren’t.
[33:53] Toe. Learn more about the crash of Flight 30 on the disappearance of Walter and Leo Metcalf.
Check out this week’s show notes at Hub history dot com slash 175 We’ll have links to some coverage of the accident in The New York Times and ah, whole lot of coverage from The Boston Globe.
We’ll also include some pictures of the wreck, DC 10 and willing to the NTSB is accident report for World Airways Flight 30.
[34:20] In our dramatization of the cockpit voice recorder on World Airways Flight 30 co host Nicki Stewart played flight engineer William Rogers.
Mariana McCormick was the air traffic controller.
Copilot Donald Herzfeld was played by Joe Harris, and pilot Peter Langley was played by yours truly.
[34:39] We’ll also have links in the show notes to information about history Camp Boston and New England Aviation History, this week’s Boston Book Club pick.
Before I let you go, I just want to share some of the awesome listener feedback we’ve been getting recently. First up, we have an email from a listener named Karina.
Just wanted to say that I love the Hub History podcast. It’s super interesting, and there’s so much bust in history, I have no idea how I’d learn about otherwise.
I showed it to my good friend, and we’ve been talking about starting something similar about Paris. Anyway. Good luck. I’m a fan.
Michelle left a comment on our patri on page patri in dot com slash help history saying, Hey, Hub history.
After more than a year, maybe two of listening, I finally caught up with the back catalog.
I have to say the show is great and is only getting better.
I missed the typical to host sessions, but really enjoy every episode.
Thanks for the amazing research you do to bring great stories of Boston history to life on Twitter.
Boston by Foot described our 18th episode about Dr Rebecca Lee Crumpler as a praiseworthy effort toe honor.
A pioneering woman in medicine and the writers Bone podcast described Episode 1 71 about Louisa May Alcott as a must listen for those who love history and literature.
[36:03] And speaking of episode 1 70 about the mill in Faber gangs Machine gun murders Michelle Tweeted This was the wildest story I never heard off.
Lots of W th came out of my mouth while driving and listening.
[36:19] An anonymous commenter on the blogger Universal Hub sighted our 27th episode about two enslaved women who were burned at the stake in Colonial Boston and said, The Hub history episode is amazing. The story is heartbreaking.
I wish that history was different over on Facebook, Paul asked.
As a listener from Australia. What does Hub stand for?
After we replied and shared the quote from Oliver Wendell Holmes naming the Statehouse dome in Boston, the hub of the solar system Paul followed up with Okay, I was trying to fit History University, Boston or similar to H.
U B perhaps on the website about Paige. You could make this reference anyway. I appreciate you getting back to me.
Enjoy The stories have started listening because Boston is part of my industries of the future. PhD comparing it with Melbourne, my hometown, and this podcast seem to be a good way to become familiar with your fair city.
[37:19] We also heard from Richard Ofri, who’s serious of blood posts, about the history of Chinatown and Chinese restaurants in Boston.
We featured back in Episode 1 50 He wrote in to Let us know that he’s been revising and expanding the Siris, Richard says.
Hope you’ve been well. I’ve expanded and revised the first part of my history of Chinatown, and it has basically doubled in length.
I’ve added more information on the first Chinese in Boston, the Queen of Chinatown, which surprised me the first tongue and much more hope you enjoy since we got that email.
He also posted his expanded version of Part two, about the first Chinese restaurants in Chinatown.
We’ll be sure to include a link to both parts in the show notes this week.
[38:06] We love getting listener feedback like you just heard from Paul, Richard, Michelle and Carina.
We’re happy to hear your episode suggestions, factual corrections and alternate sources that we might have missed.
If you’d like to leave us some feedback on this show or any other, you can email us at podcast of hub history dot com.
Were hub history on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram? Or you can go toe hub history dot com and click on the Contact US link while you’re on this site, hit the subscribe link and be sure that you never miss an episode.
If you subscribe in apple podcasts, please consider writing us a brief review.
If you do, drop us a line and we’ll send you a Hub history sticker as a token of thanks, that’s all. For now.
We’ll be back next time to talk about unequal justice in Boston.