The circumstances leading up to one of America's deadliest airline disasters are as mysterious as they are tragic. They involve a premonition of disaster, an ill-fated flight number and ghostly encounters after 271 passengers and crew perished in the accident, as well as two people on the ground. It was in the days before American Airlines Flight 191 plunged to the ground just moments after take-off from O'Hare International Airport in Chicago on May 25 1979, that David Booth had the same harrowing dream 10 nights in a row.
He said: "Everybody talks about a dream and everybody has dreams. I didn't have a dream, I had a vision." Co-pilot on Brazilian plane issued terrifying warning moments before crash Haunting last words of Brazil pilot unveiled days after plane crash "The dream would always start out in the same way.
It was a bright sunlit day and I'm looking at a very large airport and a very long runway and there's a really large plane." "I can see American Airlines. I see the plane start to taxi on the runway and it gathers up speed.
All of a sudden, as it's going off, there's a perception in my mind that there's something wrong with the sound that the engine is making." Speaking to Our Paranormal World on YouTube, David describes seeing the plane go straight up in the air before it turns and goes straight back to the ground where it "explodes in this humongous inferno and then this wave of despair." He adds: "Just like a physical object would just hit you right in the chest.
" In a bizarre turn of events, David had the exact same dream the following night, and it refused to stop. Determined to address the unsettling premonitions, he contacted the Federal Aviation Administrator (FAA), fully anticipating to be dismissed as delusional. However, Jack Barker, the FAA's public affairs director, took the call seriously, recalling: "David sounded perfectly sane and credible, there was nothing kookie about him at all.
He'd had a disturbing dream seven nights in a row (at that point)." DON'T MISS: Aviation expert pinpoints likely cause of 'death spiral' before plane disaster Tanker plane crash kills pilot as fire tornadoes rage in threatening wildfires First picture inside plane as passenger dies after severe turbulence Barker emphasized his commitment to public service, stating: "He had a problem and I listened to him. It was my job to do that.
" Despite the FAA's attention, the nightmares persisted, growing increasingly harrowing. David recounted: "Every day, it got worse and worse and worse. Not knowing what to do, not knowing what I was supposed to do.
Not being able to forget an image seared, not just into my mind, but into the very fabric of my entire being." Describing the limitations of the situation, Barker explained: "I would talk to him and listen to him but David's dream didn't give me enough information to do anything with it. It didn't give a location, it didn't give a flight - some numbers which didn't make any sense.
" Despite his inability to offer concrete assistance, Barker remained polite and receptive, concluding each call with: "I said: 'Thank you. There's nothing we can do about it but thank you for the information.'" The turning point arrived on May 25, 1979, when David experienced a shift in his recurring nightmare.
A sense of finality washed over him, convincing him that this would be the last time he'd endure the horrifying vision. Compelled by this newfound certainty, he contacted the FAA once more, reporting that the dream had now haunted him for ten consecutive nights. Looking back on the chilling day, David recounted: "I got up, went to work.
I was at work for 15 minutes when the phone rang. 'Dave I'm sorry to tell you, American Airlines Flight DC-10 has crashed an hour ago on take-off. Nobody survived.
'". After it came to light that the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 en route to LA crashed shortly after takeoff due to its left engine coming off, Jack reflected: "It hit me just how accurate he was. What he dreamed was basically what happened.
" "You've got to experience that to understand how eerie it is," he emphasized. Haunted by the memories, David confessed: "I still think about it and I always still wonder was there anything else that I could've done?" In the wake of the disaster, bizarre tales surfaced, including ghost sightings at the crash site where drivers described "strange white lights bobbing in the field where the aircraft had gone down." Furthermore, locals living near the crash scene in a nearby trailer park reported odd events such as unexplained sounds and knocking, along with their dogs barking incessantly at an apparently empty field.
Several residents reported sightings of a disoriented man appearing at their doorsteps, claiming he needed to retrieve his luggage before disappearing into the night. One resident even claimed to have encountered a "smouldering man" who "smelled of gasoline", urgently needing to make an emergency phone call. The number 191 is often associated with ill-fated flights.
Since 1963, six flights carrying this number have tragically ended in fatal crashes..
