What happened to Flight 212’s survivors after the crash, and a full list of the deceased

Of the 82 people on board Eastern Air Lines Flight 212 on Sept. 11, 1974, only 10 survived the worst air disaster in Charlotte history. The crash was caused by pilot error as a result of misread altimeters and “poor cockpit discipline,” according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

Flight 212 would help lead to the creation of the Federal Aviation Administration’s “sterile cockpit” rule, which governs all flights today and forbids pilots from talking about anything unrelated to the flight on takeoffs, landings and below 10,000 feet.

Three of the original 10 survivors of Flight 212 are still alive, 50 years later. The Observer spoke with all three, as well as with family members of the other seven original survivors. Here’s what happened to each of the 10 plane crash survivors.

Surviving passengers (3)

Richard Arnold: Living in Washington state.

The worst-injured survivor, Arnold spent months in a hospital in Charleston recovering from severe burns, then years as a key plaintiff in a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Eastern and its insurance carriers. He met his second wife Catherine in 1991. Now 81, Arnold and the younger of his two sons from his first marriage, Christopher, are working on a book about the crash.

Bob Burnham: Living in South Carolina.

In the Navy at the time of the crash, Burnham stayed in for nearly 14 years, then went to work in the commercial nuclear power industry.

He has two children, three grandchildren and has flown many times after the crash, always sitting in the back of the plane as he did for Flight 212. “I’m a stoic,” he said. “I pretty much compartmentalized it.” Now 75, Burnham lives with his wife in the Hilton Head area.

Scott Johnson: Living in Vermont.

A 20-year-old welder in the Navy at the time of the crash, Johnson, now 70, said he still suffers from PTSD due to Flight 212. He took a medical retirement from the Navy as a disabled veteran, due to the crash’s impact on his life. Johnson has one daughter and never flies.

“I’m not afraid of flying,” he said. “I’m just afraid of crashing.”

Other original surviving passengers (5)

Roy Hendrix: Died in 2022 at age 80.

Hendrix remained in the Navy after the plane crash and served for 24 years on its submarine force, retiring as a Navy commander. Following the crash, he studiously avoided airplanes. His older son became a pilot for American Airlines and has flown over the crash site of Flight 212 in Charlotte many times.

Frank Mihalek: Died in 2012 at age 84.

The oldest survivor of Flight 212, Mihalek was 46 at the time of the crash and helped pull co-pilot Jim Daniels away from the wreckage. His son Darryl Mihalek calls him “the original 9/11 hero.” Frank Mihalek died on Sept. 11, 2012, the 38th anniversary of the plane crash, due to complications from cardiovascular disease and a stroke. For years before his death, he would call and talk to fellow survivor Colette Watson, the flight attendant, every Sept. 11th.

Jim Schulze: Died in 1995 at age 46.

Schulze stayed in the Navy for years after the crash, mostly teaching at the Navy’s Nuclear Power School. He and his wife, Lin Schulze, had two daughters. Of the 10 people who survived the crash, Schulze died at the youngest age, of non-Hodgkins lymphoma.

His wife Lin has long wondered if all of the black smoke he inhaled on the day of the crash contributed to the cancer that killed him.

John Toohey: Died in 1996 at age 54.

Yet another Navy man — five of Flight 212’s 10 survivors were in the Navy — the corpsman and Vietnam vet was on his way to the funeral of his father, who had died of cancer at 53. Toohey also died of cancer, although it wasn’t clear what type had stricken him; his widow, Peggy, says he refused to see a doctor until it was too late.

Charles Weaver: Died in 2014 at age 82.

The father of five lost Harry Grady, his best friend, in the crash. He was plagued by survivor’s guilt because the two men had traded seats on the plane at the last minute that morning.

His family says Weaver was a “very religious person” who was heavily involved in their church before the tragedy occurred; afterward, he rarely set foot in a church again.

Original surviving crew (2)

Co-pilot Jim Daniels: Died in 2021 at age 83.

Daniels, who was flying the plane at the time of the crash, sustained some injuries but recovered.

After losing his pilot’s license, he would later regain it and return to the air, flying cargo and charter planes for decades. He died in Florida after being diagnosed with lung cancer.

Flight attendant Colette Watson: Died in 2023 at age 74.

Watson was 26, married and childless at the time of the crash.

Despite some trepidation, she would return to the air and worked for Eastern for a total of 23 years, until the airline shut down in 1991. She then became a school secretary in Georgia. She had two children and two grandchildren.

The victims

Seventy-two people died as a result of the Flight 212 plane crash on Sept. 11, 1974 — 70 passengers and two crew members. Those 72 are listed below, along with their ages when they died.

PASSENGERS (70)

David C. Ball, 16

Walter L. Bastian, 24

John S. Boireau, 44

Curtis J.W. Bolin, 23

Stefanie R. Bolin, 19

Alice C. Burkholder, 42

Estelle Brummer, 48

Bobby Burren, 28

Jack A. Canfield, 19

Albert R. Carpenter, 57

George W. Carswell, 52

Julia Carty, 30

James Colbert, 53

Paul Colbert, 18

Peter Colbert, 15

Robert L. Coleman, 23

Charles W. Cummings, 51

Adrian C. Daniels, 19

John R. Deakin, 34

Alan D. Dimock, 42

Salvatore F. Fascella, 30

Harvey M. Feldman, 36

Malcolm G. Fetter, 50

Annie B. Flintom, 77

David S. Flintom, 77

Frank Ford Jr., 44

Michael Gagnon, 21

Edward A. Gibson, 44

Harry E. Grady, 30

John B. Haines, 51

Jack I. Hoel, 38

Anthony J. Hont, 26

Casimira J. Hoteck, 43

Walter R. Jennings, 38

Victoria L. Johnson, 31

William A. Johnson Jr., 48

Bruce C. Ladd, 39

Stephen W. Lane, 85

Bernard Loughery, 43

William W. Lundy, 50

Martin W. McCarter Jr., 42

Charles F. McDonald, 44

Henry E. McFall, 37

Paul W. Mergenthal Jr., 42

John Merriman, 50

Thomas P. Nacinovich, 63

Harold S. Newton, 27

Walter Norem, 36

Karen R. Ostreim, 23

JoAnn B. Philips, 40

John Pinheiro, 20

Jerry C. Reese, 42

Robert E. Ross Jr., 37

Debra Sanders, 17

Jack Sanders, 43

Walter W. Seal, 39

Jacquelyn L. Shaw, 23

Bill Shelley, 46

Martha J. Sloan, 33

John F. Snuggs, 36

John R. Sopko, 37

Ned Thornhill, 14

Deanne E. Tracy, 17

Felix S. Vecchione, 47

Kenneth B. Walker, 57

Christopher J. Washington, 22

Lewis M. Weston, 60

Cleve Willis, 25

Joseph S. Willis, 23

Leslie J. Wylie Jr., 31

CREW (2)

Captain James Reeves, 48

Flight attendant Eugenia Kerth, 25

This story was originally published September 11, 2024 at 5:00 AM.

Scott Fowler

The Charlotte Observer

704-358-5136

Columnist Scott Fowler has written for The Charlotte Observer since 1994 and has earned 26 APSE awards for his sportswriting. He hosted The Observer’s podcast “Carruth,” which Sports Illustrated once named “Podcast of the Year.” Fowler also conceived and hosted the online series and podcast “Sports Legends of the Carolinas,” which featured 1-on-1 interviews with NC and SC sports icons and was turned into a book. He occasionally writes about non-sports subjects, such as the 5-part series “9/11/74,” which chronicled the forgotten plane crash of Eastern Air Lines Flight 212 in Charlotte on Sept. 11, 1974. Support my work with a digital subscription

Théoden Janes

The Charlotte Observer

704-358-5897

Théoden Janes has spent nearly 20 years covering entertainment and pop culture for the Observer. He also thrives on telling emotive long-form stories about extraordinary Charlotteans and — as a veteran of three dozen marathons and two Ironman triathlons — occasionally writes about endurance and other sports. Support my work with a digital subscription