Son of Eastern Air Lines crash survivor reflects on 50th anniversary

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.

Weaver explained his father was on a business trip, traveling with his best friend who sadly died in the crash. A small decision made by the pair in the cabin, may have changed the Weaver family forever.

“Dad had a middle seat, so he had to get up and go across Mr. Grady to get his coffee and when he came back Harry said, ‘Charlie, why don’t you just sit on the aisle? And I’ll sit in the middle seat,’” Weaver shared.

He said years of survivor’s guilt followed his father, who also never returned to church unless it was for a funeral or a wedding.

“You know, people always asked Dad why he didn’t go back to church, and his answer would be, ‘I don’t need to be in church for God to be taking care of me,’” Weaver said.

Overall, Weaver said he and his family went on to live normal lives. On the 50 ^th anniversary of the tragedy, he asked people to remember those who were not as lucky.

“Just want the community to not forget the other 72 souls that we lost on that flight,” he added. The father and two brothers of tv host, Stephen Colbert, were among those killed in the crash.

The NTSB said one of the 11 survivors died from their injuries 29 days after the incident.

Some of the clips used in this story were provided to WCBD by University of South Carolina Moving Image Research Collections.

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