Remembering Flight 514: Families, First Responders Reflect on Tragic Plane Crash
Fifty years after one of the most impactful crashes in American aviation history on a mountain ridge near Bluemont, more than 200 surviving family members and first responders gathered Sunday to commemorate the 92 lives lost that day.
The program was organized by the Bluemont Citizens Association with the goal of bringing those impacted by the crash together for the first time and to create a permanent memorial to the 85 passengers and seven crew members killed in the crash of TWA Flight 514.
“Many months ago, a group of us here in the village were aware that the 50th anniversary of the crash of Flight 514 was approaching. We also realized with some surprise that there has never been an occasion in which relatives were provided the opportunity to properly recognize and honor those who perished,” BCA President Peter Weeks said during a ceremony in the Bluemont Community Center, which served as the emergency operations center and morgue in the days following the crash.
“This recognition, this memorial, has been long overdue.
We made a commitment then to do everything possible to bring you families together.”
The Boeing 727 enroute from Indianapolis IN, with a stop in Columbus, OH, was on landing approach to Dulles Airport after winter storm conditions prompted a diversion from National Airport. The plane hit the western slope of Mount Weather at 11:10 a.m. Dec. 1 killing all aboard. Investigation of the crash resulted in the implementation of a series of aviation regulatory changes that are foundational to commercial airline safety today.
Family members participating in the ceremony, many children and grandchildren of those aboard, expressed mixed emotions about visiting the crash site, as well as appreciation for the opportunity to reflect on the tragic event with others and to establish a permanent memorial.
Carl Zwisler was a 26-year-old lawyer and the oldest of nine children when his parents, Carl and Mary, heading to Washington, DC, on a business trip, were killed. It was the first time his mother had been on a plane. He said he worried about having to come to the crash site to identify his parents’ bodies. The availability of dental records gave him a reprieve.
“For the last 50 years, I have never wanted to be here because I couldn’t think of anything good about it,” Zwisler said. “I can’t imagine what you first responders went through and I’m forever indebted to everybody who helped us through that process.”
In the aftermath of the crash, Zwisler worked to keep his family together.
“I read press reports, as I’m sure you did, voraciously after the crash,” he said to the other surviving family members. “One of the things that really struck me was the statement that the nine Zwisler children were orphaned. I never thought about being orphaned, but the language shocked and scared me.”
“We always stayed with family and being with family has been, I think, the most important thing to me. Our family has grown close, not because of, but in the wake of the tragic accident that we share,” he said.
Steven Onne’s sister, Susan Applewhite died in the crash along with her husband, James, and son, Benjy.
Onne said the crash happened after their grandmother died at home in China earlier that year.
“This additional loss was more immediate. A daughter, a sibling, and the first grandchild had died,” Onne said. “I hadn’t ever met my nephew in person, but now I never would. His remains have been combined with his parents’ ashes because only enough parts were retrieved to positively identify the dead.”
They will remain forever young in the photo left behind to remind us of how they look so many years ago,” he said.
Thirty-two on board were U.S. military veterans.
Bridget Jones highlighted the legacy of her grandfather, Roscoe Conklin “Rock” Cartwright, who died in the crash at age 55, just three months after retiring as a brigadier general in the U.S. Army. At the time he was only the third Black man ever to hold the rank. He and his wife, Gloria, were returning from a Thanksgiving visit with family.
