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9/11/74: The untold story of Charlotte’s deadliest plane crash.

By David Newcomb
Eastern Airlines FLIGHT 212 CRASH 09/11/1974 ELMER HORTON/ THE CHARLOTTE NEWS
Eastern Airlines FLIGHT 212 CRASH 09/11/1974 ELMER HORTON/ THE CHARLOTTE NEWS ELMER HORTON The Charlotte News File Photo

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9 / 11 / 74 — The untold story of Charlotte’s deadliest plane crash.

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A team of journalists from The Charlotte Observer spent more than a year researching Eastern Flight 212, which crashed in a cornfield in Charlotte on Sept. 11, 1974, killing 72 people.

On the eve of the crash’s 50-year anniversary, reporters Scott Fowler and Théoden Janes and visual journalist Jeff Siner interviewed dozens of people and pored over thousands of documents — some never previously made public — to tell a story of horror and heroism in a way it has never been told before.

The resulting multimedia project is called “9/11/74: The untold story of Charlotte’s deadliest plane crash.” The five-part series recreates the disaster and its aftermath in unprecedented detail while exploring its effect on the 10 crash survivors, as well as the families who lost a loved one on Flight 212.

Published stories in the series

Louie Pinheiro stands near the small bouquet of flowers and American flags he left near the site on Aug. 30, 2024, where he brother John died in 1974. John Pinheiro was one of 72 people who died in the crash of Eastern Flight 212 on September 11, 1974. His brother Louie has visited the site four times and said each time it makes him feel closer to John.
Louie Pinheiro stands near the small bouquet of flowers and American flags he left near the site on Aug. 30, 2024, where he brother John died in 1974. John Pinheiro was one of 72 people who died in the crash of Eastern Flight 212 on September 11, 1974. His brother Louie has visited the site four times and said each time it makes him feel closer to John. Jeff Siner jsiner@charlotteobserver.com

This story was originally published September 4, 2024 at 5:00 AM with the headline "9/11/74: The untold story of Charlotte’s deadliest plane crash.."

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9 / 11 / 74 — The untold story of Charlotte’s deadliest plane crash.

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