Sole Survivor Philip Bradley
P.O. Box 3219
Monroe, NC 28111-3219
704-282-4250
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Webmaster/journalist Hawes Spencer
The Hook
100 Second Street NW
Charlottesville, VA 22902
434-295-8700×230
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Phil Bradley greets families before the October 31, 2009 ceremony. Click image for slideshow.
Fifty years after the crash of Flight 349, Phil Bradley, the sole survivor, came back to the Crozet area to preside over the October 31 commemoration ceremony. Attendees noted that the weather was eerily similar to the weather 50 years earlier, when Bradley spent a day and a half on Bucks Elbow Mountain. Charlottesville was only supposed to be a brief stopping point for many of the passengers of the ill-fated flight, but it turned out to have lasting impact for friends and family of the 26 people who died in the crash. Bradley remembered them by rededicating the monument he erected a decade ago.
Phil Bradley at the site of the monument he erected
Phil Bradley, the sole survivor of Piedmont Flight 349 was interviewed by Charlottesville WINA-AM radio host Coy Barefoot on Wednesday, October 14. The show has been podcast. (The same day, a well-known Charlottesvillian named Ken Staples, who worked on body recovery at the crash site, also appeared on the radio program.)
Fifty years ago, my father, Ed Gill, was searching the Blue Ridge Mountains of Amherst County for the wreckage of Flight 349. Dad had a keen interest in the outcome because he worked for Chapstick, and knew Mr. Whitehouse. When the announcement came over the radio that the wreckage had been found, Dad drove to the Crozet area and hiked to the site. He took his home movie camera, and I have 65 seconds of silent, color footage of the recovery effort. The film clearly shows the downed plane, military personnel, body bags, etc. In fact, I recently converted the footage from reel-to-reel to DVD. Perhaps I’m wrong, but I imagine that color video from the recovery is somewhat rare, so it’s an honor to be in possession of such an item.
I am the pilot who decided to re-enact the government’s flight path theory in July, 2009. I did this to collaborate with Hawes Spencer for his article. After reading the reports and making the flight, I am very skeptical of the government’s findings and theory as to why the accident occurred, based upon their own “facts”.
I too will be at the memorial looking forward to meeting Mr. Bradley and surviving family members of the passengers and crewmembers. In particular, by making this flight, I hope that there may be some closure for them, as to whether or not the official report from the government was indeed sufficiently accurate to have closed the accident file.
Hi. I had a nice conversation w/ Mr. Bradley today. My grandfather was killed on PA Flight 349. He was Julian Nardi. My dad was Francis Julian Nardi and he went by the name Frank. But Julian was always Julian although some of his cousins thought he was Antonio Julian. At any rate, if I pull some a tidbit about him from the family history, would you be interested in it for your website? Just a paragraph’s worth.
I think it is wonderful what Mr. Bradley has done to honor the deceased victims. I was unable to attend the 40th anniversary/memorial dedication but plan to attend on Oct. 31, 2009.
Regards,
Betsy Nardi
Blacksburg VA