Like the nightmare scene from the movie Final Destination, a plane crash is one scary thought that goes through any traveler’s minds. Most people think of flight 93 when tragic US plane crashes, but there was one before 9/11 that still seems to haunt a small neighborhood in Elkton.
On the evening of December 8, 1963, Elkton was having a very rainy thunderstorm. Pan Am Flight 214, a flight from Puerto Rico headed to Philadelphia, was flying just over the town when it was struck by lightning. At 8:58 pm Philadelphia International Airport received a distress call from the captain and at 8:59 the plane had engulfed into flames and exploded, raining debris over Elkton. The crash and debris landed onto the fields of the Berry Family Farm on Delancy Road. The crash site spanned about 4 miles.
The town of Elkton immediately jumped into a search and rescue. A lot of locals seen the flashes of light and felt the rumbling and shaking of the crash. Unfortunately, the 73 passengers and 8 crew members perished in the crash. Elkton was forever shaken by the tragedy of Flight 214. The town had a difficult time due to the muddy mess the storm left behind and it took families several weeks before they received their loved ones’ remains or belongings. Locals nicknamed the area Crater Rd due to the size of the holes left from the plane. The North East Fire Company even had a firefighter die on the scene from a heart attack.
A little over a decade after the crash a neighborhood development called Turnquist was built. Most that live in the neighborhood claim it is now haunted by the people who died on Flight 214. People have claimed of having nightmares, feelings of being watched, sleep paralysis, and claims of seeing faces, specifically children, in odd places. One neighbor claimed to have seen a little blonde boy crying in her bedroom one night. The neighborhood oddly has a high turnover and not many people live there very long.
Today the memory of Flight 214 is a part of Cecil County history. Cecil County Historical Society has documents and even pieces of the plane on display at their location. The neighborhood of Turnquist also dedicated a memorial in the area to the people who lost their lives on Flight 214.
Resources
Cherundolo, J. E. (2005). Cecil