Memorial to Victims of Flight 4184 south of Roselawn

Memorial to Victims of Flight 4184
south of Roselawn, Indiana on County Road 400 East (Newton County)

American Eagle Flight 4184 took off from Indianapolis in the late afternoon of Oct. 31, 1994, bound for Chicago's O'Hare Airport. Every seat was filled aboard the ATR-72, a twin turboprop (four crew members and 64 passengers).

Because of delays at O'Hare, the world's busiest airport, Flight 4184 was ordered into a holding pattern over northwest Indiana, where it circled at about 9,000 feet for nearly an hour in light to moderate icing conditions.

When the plane's pilots tried to take over active control from the autopilot system, the plane flipped upside down and went into a steep dive. Two attempts by the pilots to recover control failed. The aircraft slammed into the ground nose first, leaving an 8-foot-deep crater. Few pieces of debris were large enough to be readily recognizable as belonging to an aircraft. (photos of crash site)

Investigators surmised that the plane's autopilot system had been compensating for a buildup of ice on the plane's wings and that the pilots, who had no way of knowing that, were caught by surprise when they tried to take control.

(These photographs were taken in February, 2002. They are offered without commentary as a memorial to those who lost their lives, and as a tribute to friends and family members who grieve.)

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Historical and Community Content

NEW!! DeMotte, Indiana History (1997) NEW!

New project: American Life Histories, Manuscripts from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1940
(This will be an ongoing project with entries added frequently.)

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Memorial to Victims of Flight 4184 (February, 2002)

Lake Michigan Vistas (May, 2002)

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Northwest Indiana District Church of the Nazarene former Campground (San Pierre, Lomax Station)
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Who's Who In the District (Northern Indiana Church of the Nazarene, 1939-40)

Nazarene Album (Northern Indiana District Church of the Nazarene, 1934)

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