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Belleview resident Sharon Matiyow recalls the harrowing ordeal of Flight 119. The details of that fateful day remain etched in her mind. BY RICHARD ANGUIANO
I
t was supposed to be the last flight
of the day for Sharon Matiyow, “one more little hop” for American Airlines Flight 119 from St. Louis to Tulsa on June 23, 1972. Her workday began at 6am with a round trip between New York and Toronto before her crew headed west. Matiyow—then Sharon Wetherley—was 22 and three months out of flight attendant school. About 3pm, with the Boeing 727 about to descend into Tulsa, Matiyow approached Jane Furlong, a fellow rookie flight attendant, as Furlong strode toward the cockpit carrying a note. “She was looking at me and giving me these facial expressions,” recalls Matiyow, OCALA’S GOOD LIFE retirement redefined
