CHARLESTON, S.C. (WBCD) – September 11 th marks the anniversary of another tragedy in the sky; one that began in Charleston 50 years ago.
It was September 11, 1974. An Eastern Air Lines plane carrying 78 passengers and four crew members departed from Charleston at 7 a.m., according to a report from the National Transportation Safety Board. Roughly 30 minutes later, Flight 212 would end in disaster.
The Chicago-bound plane was scheduled to make a stop in Charlotte. With just three statute miles to go, NTSB said the plane crashed, killing all but 11 people on board. The agency determined “the flight crew’s lack in altitude awareness” was the probable cause of the crash.
“We were one of the lucky ones, that he had lived,” said Steve Weaver, of Mount Pleasant.
Weaver recalled being 14 years old and coming home from school that day when he learned his late father, Charles Weaver, made it out of the crash alive.
“My aunt had greeted me to explain what had happened with Daddy in the plane crash and that he had survived, but they were bringing him by ambulance from Charlotte to Charleston,” Weaver told News 2 on Wednesday.