Customer Reviews

35 Miles from Shore: The Ditching and Rescue of ALM Flight 980

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It has been more than 37 years since ALM flight 980 ran out of fuel and was forced to ditch in the shark-infested waters off the coast of St. Croix in the Carribean. When one stops to consider the thousands of commercial jet flights that take off and land each and every day all over the world it is all the more remarkable that what took place on May 2, 1970 remains to this day the one and only open-water ditching of a commercial jet in aviation history! Author Emilio Corsetti III is a both a professional pilot and a gifted writer. As such, he is a man uniquely qualified to scrutinize the facts surrounding this unfortunate incident that has long since faded from memory. "35 Miles From Shore" is the remarkable story of what went down on that stormy Saturday afternoon nearly four decades ago. Clearly this is an incident worth looking into and a story worth telling. "35 Miles From Shore" is a book that will grab your attention right away and hold your interest until the very end.

It is important to note that the service between JFK in New York and the island of St. Maarten had been inaugurated just a few months earlier in a joint agreement between the official airline of the Netherlands Antilles ALM and the U.S based carrier Overseas National Airways. Under this arrangement known as a "wet lease" ONA would provide the aircraft, pilot and flight crew and ALM would provide the flight attendants. Under the terms of the agreement hammered out by the CEO's of the two airlines installation of an extra fuel tank was deemed necessary and this tank was to be installed on the aircraft by no later than April 1st, 1970. Both ONA CEO Steedman Hinckley and ALM president Ciro Octavio Irausquin were keenly aware that the existing fuel tanks on the DC-9 were probably inadequate for a flight of this distance and left the pilot precious little margin for error. Failure to follow through on this committment would prove to be a major factor in the eventual ditching of this aircraft. Author Emilio Corsetti III does a workmanlike job of examining this tragedy from a number of different perspectives. Through a series of interviews with the pilot and crew, passengers, rescuers and investigators Corsetti has been able to cobble together a pretty comprehensive account of just went on that day. Pilot error was certainly a factor in this tragedy. In addition, torrential rains, gusty winds, extremely poor visibility and heavy seas would play a major role in the unfolding of this tragedy. All in all, a total of 20 people would lose their lives including stewardess Margareth Abraham. By all accounts Margareth and the rest of the crew and flight attendants performed heroically in preparing the passengers for what was about to take place. And it goes without saying that the lives of most who were lucky enough to survive would never be the same. This was especially true for Captain Balsey DeWitt who would never fly again.

I found "35 Miles From Shore" to be a well-written and meticulously researched book. I greatly appreciated the schematic of the aircraft that appears at the beginning of the book. I found myself referring to it again and again and this greatly enhanced my understanding of what was going on during the flight and in the moments immediately after the plane landed in the water. "35 Miles From Shore" also includes a 16 page photo gallery featuring 41 pictures which also help to bring these events to life. As another reviewer has indicated this is a book that reads like a novel but the events depicted here are real. A great book for general audiences and for those interested in aviation. Recommended.

In "35 Miles From Shore" Emilio Corsetti III, himself a professional pilot, shows why professional accident investigators talk in terms of a "chain of events." This accident had numerous links in its chain, any of which could have been broken by different people at different times.

ALM Flight 980 (operated under contract by ONA) was a regularly scheduled DC-9 (N935F) from New York's JFK airport to the island of St. Maarten. This route was close to the edge of the DC-9's range without auxiliary fuel tanks, which weren't available when the service began. Some people make a great fuss over this, but in reality the flight was dispatched with greater fuel than was legally required when it left JFK. Since the flight flew over Bermuda on the way down, there was always an option of stopping for fuel, an option that was occasionally exercised. Certainly having a higher fuel capacity would have been nice, but was not required for safe operation of the flight. What was required was good decision making from the flight crew, a crew beset by problems.

Today airlines have "Crew Resource Management" (CRM) and other training designed to help pilots work well together. This accident and a host of others around the same time (with Eastern 401 being the most famous) developed at least in large part due to domineering Captains making bad decisions while trying to do everything themselves and stifling communication from subordinates. These Captains are now largely (and thankfully) retired, but flying with one of those self-absorbed sky kings who were frequently abusive to junior crewmembers made for a terrible trip. I know; I've been there. This particular combination was especially bad with Captain Balsey DeWitt in command. DeWitt was a check airman and was known for going out of his way to be difficult, arrogantly calling himself the "cherub-faced assassin," a nickname that caught on with other ONA pilots. The First Officer, Harry Evans, was very inexperienced and had previously had unsatisfactory simulator training with DeWitt.

Throughout the flight DeWitt did most everything himself, even flying the aircraft manually, talking on the radio, and coordinating a diversion simultaneously at one point, a method that left Evans out of the decision making loop altogether. DeWitt had made a series of decisions that had caused the flight to burn more fuel than was called for (notably cruising at lower altitudes and less efficient speeds,) and when he discovered the weather at St. Maarten was marginal continued on instead of diverting for fuel. I am actually somewhat sympathetic to the decision to continue; it's the kind of decision pilots make every day. What I am not sympathetic with is his multiple unstable approaches in terrible weather while extremely low on fuel before deciding to divert. His seemingly caviler disregard of fuel requirements was the proximal cause of this accident. After the ditching DeWitt acted very responsibly and greatly assisted in the rescue efforts, for which he should be commended. That he never flew again is also a good thing.

The book discusses the interpersonal conflicts on this flight, the various links in the accident chain, the actual ditching of the aircraft and recovery of the passengers (the DC-9 floated very well and allowed safe egress for most passengers,) and the aftermath of the accident including safety improvements made since the accident. Today N935F still lies 5,000 feet below bottom of the sea. Corsetti intuitively knows what parts of the story to emphasize and at what time. The closing of the book is a sort of "lessons learned," and while he discusses many technical details, he is able to effectively communicate them to people with any level of aeronautical knowledge. I think it was an inspired choice for him to cite the NTSB's report on the accident to reinforce one of his central themes (p.277): "The Board also finds that the probability of survival would have been increased substantially in this accident if there had been better crew coordination prior to and during the ditching." This is exactly the point, and is the primary reason that airlines have CRM, TEM, and other programs today.

As an airline pilot (with thousands of hours flying time in the DC-9) I am rarely overwhelmed by a book profiling an accident. This book is an exception: it is well written, accurate, comprehensive, comprehensible, well documented, and grippingly written. I recommend it for anyone interested in aviation, aviation accidents, human factors, or dramatic nonfiction.

This true story about a jet ditching is a riveting read. Corsetti is able to tell the reader what happened in a clear, concise manner. Even with all the technical parts of flying an airplane, Corsetti made it easy to understand. I found his end notes and his bottom of the page notes very helpful in furthering my understanding as to what was happening.


The most intense part for me was the crash and the rescue. I saw and felt the chaos that had developed when the crew and passengers realized that they had to ditch the plane. The frustration of looking for the life vest under the seats and trying to get them to fit properly. The anxiety of trying to retrieve a life raft and it being accidentally inflated by a passenger inside the plane and then the stewards were unable to get it out of the plane.


After I finished reading the book I thought WOW!! I am so glad that I read this book. If you like true survival books or even if you don't; this book is worth the read. If you want to know more definitely read this book.

I was an observer on one of the Marine Corps CH-46 helicopters that took part in the rescue and I strongly recommend this book as a complete record of what happened. It is a spellbinding but professional account of the ditching, what went before and what followed afterwards.

My only disappointment is that the author does not ask the On Scene Commander Lt. Blank why he used the Aircraft he had at his disposal the way he did. It was a puzzle to the Marines at the time and still is.


At 16.30, Lt. Blank had the following assets at his disposal.

4 * CH-46. Useful load 8,750 lbs. Time to scene- 25 mins
2 * CH-46. Useful load 8,750 lbs. Time to scene- 45 mins

1 * SH-3. Useful load 4,000 lbs. Time to scene- 50 mins
2 * SH-52 Useful load 3,000 lbs. Time to scene- 75 mins

It was about this time, 16.30, that Lt. Blank diverted the 4 Marine CH-46s to St. Croix, followed shortly by the other 2. It didn't make sense to us at the time, and it makes even less sense now, that he would bench his most capable aircraft, which also happened to be the nearest to the scene. They were the fastest, too, even if not by much. The CH-46s were fully equipped and certified for instrument flight. They were all brand spanking new, new engines putting out full power, all equipment and radios working and were manned by the best pilots in the squadron, all with 2.000+ hours, at least 1,000 of them flown in a 13 month tour in Vietnam, where they flew almost every day, all hand flying, no autopilot.

The Marines had done an outstanding job. They launched, with full fuel, in 15 minutes instead of the usual one hour. They were the first rescue helicopters to launch, within 25 minutes of the DC-9 ditching. When eventually allowed to take part in the rescue, they performed at a level well beyond what could normally be expected, flying in terrible weather conditions, high winds, 10 to 15 foot swells, 400 foot ceilings, ¼ to ½ mile visibility and rapidly failing light. It would be difficult to imagine worse.

But instead of the justifiable feelings of pride for the skills and courage exhibited and satisfaction of a job well done, the Marines were left with feelings of anger and frustration. They were very angry at Lt Black (although they didn't know who he was at the time) because they had left people behind and they knew it.

That goes against everything the Marines believe and hold dear. But especially :"Never leave anyone behind". Even though those they were rescuing were not Marines, they had been given into the care of the Marine Corps. As illogical as it may seem to the average person, the Marines believed they had let them down. This feeling is so strong in the Marine Corps even though they had done everything possible, those who took part in this rescue believe to this day, that if they had been called in earlier, they would have gotten them all. And being Marines, they believe that they should have been able to persuade the On Scene Commander that he should release them or if he could not be persuaded, they should have gone ahead anyway.

I remember how astonished the author was, that we were still so angry even after 30 years, especially when by any normal standards the Marines had performed in an outstanding manner.

Why? That's easy to explain. The United States Marine Corps does not judge itself by normal standards, Each Marine judges himself against standards that he has evolved for himself, a combination of his own character modified and added to, where needed, by those of the US Marine Corps. These standards are invariably much higher and more stringent than those others judge themselves by.

Lt. Blank, if you read this tell us why.

Good read about tragic airline disaster. Written for the non-aviator. However, it did not transfer well to the electronic version. Problems include: text exceeds screen size, footnotes do not align appropriately, and text too light to read. I highly recommend the book for those that are interested in aviation disasters but would recommned reading the hardcopy.

I'm not generally a non-fiction reader. I much prefer crime thrillers and Stephen King novels, and the occasional biography (which, let's face it, isn't always 100% non-fiction). However, when I started to read 35 Miles From Shore, I was immediately sucked in. The book tells the story of the only recorded open water ditching of a commercial jet. ALM Flight 980 landed in the waters of the Caribbean after running out of fuel. The author takes an interesting approach in not only describing the details of the doomed flight and its passengers, but also giving background on the chain of events that led up to the tragedy. Not only does it make for a more interesting story, but it gave the book a uniquely human element that I would imagine isn't often present in books about disasters.

The book opens by explaining that most accidents aren't a freak occurrence but rather the end of an unfortunate chain of events. In the case of ALM Flight 980, this is especially true. The author covers the choices made by the airlines, the crew, and the air traffic controllers on the ground that added to the inevitable end result. From the secondary fuel tank that was never added to the plane to the last second decision to head for their alternate landing destination due to bad weather, the author painstakingly researched every available detail about the flight and the events leading to the disaster.

In the process of revealing all the events that may or may not have contributed to the crash, we learn about all the people involved. We learn about the passengers, the crew, and even the rescuers. Reading about why each passenger was on the flight (last vacation before having a baby, returning home, business, etc.) really brought the story to life. Knowing that the author interviewed most of these people directly reminds the reader that this tragic story really happened.

One note about the endnotes in the Kindle version of the book - they work wonderfully. Typically when you read a book with annotations, they are either at the bottom of the page or at the end of the book. I typically dislike reading books where the notes are at the end because that means I have to stop reading and find the right annotation at the back of the book. However, in 35 Miles From Shore, all you have to do is use the scroll wheel to click on the line with the number and then choose the number from the menu. It takes you directly to the appropriate annotation, and simply hitting the back button brings you back to your place in the book. The only problem I found with this - and it's a small one - is that the asterisk-marked pieces often land in the middle of paragraphs. However, once you've realized this, it's easier to read around them.

I truly enjoyed the book. It was a fast read, unbelievably well-researched, and extremely interesting. Even if you're not much of a non-fiction reader, this is an entertaining book that can capture your attention just as easily as a novel.

[...]

Being a resident of Curacao myself, and thus very familiar with this incident, I was really glad when this book came out. Very few people know about the ditching of ALM 980, and I hope this book will change this fact.
Very detailed and written on a personal level. the book does not give you the feeling of being isolated from the events happening, and never spins the situation in a way that would make it hard to follow.

I most certainly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in aviation, or just would like to know about a very little known fact of history.

In a straight forward investigative style, Emilio Corsetti III delivers a substantive and thorough examination of the "error-chain" that caused the ditching of ALM Flight 980 on May 2, 1970. Like so many other calamities that end tragically, Corsetti poignantly details how the mentality of corporate profits over the safety and well being of passengers sets off a horrific chain of events.
From the beginning chapters, Corsetti puts us in the minds and board rooms of those responsible for making the decisions that put ALM Flight 980 in Harms way. Though Corsetti is careful not to point out who the true villain is in his gripping tale, his early treatment of ONA CEO and President G. F.Steedman Hinckley clearly delivers a nod. Hinkley's driven ambition to create a route from New York to St. Maarten minus a third fuel tank for the sake of maintaining face, casts Hinkley into the dark shadows of aviation history.
Corsetti delivers vivid scenes chapter after chapter. He takes you into the cockpit, into the rafts that carry the surviving passengers, onto the helicopters that dropped the slings and rescue seats as they hovered above the swells of the ocean. Corsetti's riveting paragraphs are at their best when he immerses the reader into the ditching of the plane and the heroic rescue efforts of the crew and the Coast Guard.
Like Harry Evans, I must admit I suffered a little "cognitive narrowing" from the dizzying amount of characters Corsetti introduces paragraph after paragraph. By the middle of the book, one is so overwhelmed with the constant bouncing from one character to another; it's hard to concentrate on the task at hand. Corsetti would have been better served if he would have told the story from the perspective of a handful of people - like Balsey Dewitt, who palpably is the most interesting and courageous character in the human drama. Just like fiction, non-fiction must move along and keep the readers attention. I wanted more of Balsey, his life, his emotions, his thoughts and feelings as he humbly did his duty as a professional pilot. In the end, it was his efforts that allowed people the chance to survive.
Still, one cannot come away from this account unimpressed with Corsetti's talent and his attention for detail. Because of his pen, the ditching and rescue of ALM Flight 980 comes to life, and heroes we never were aware of,emerge.

Imagine it's May 2, 1970, and you're departing JFK en route to the tropical island of St. Maarten on a DC-9 jet with fifty-six other passengers and six crewmembers.

The forecast includes a chance of thunderstorms, but because of the experienced captain and crew, you're not alarmed. The thunderstorms grow in intensity until, at four hours and thirty-four minutes of flight time, the plane's fuel reserves are depleted.

You barely get your life vest on...wham, the plane, still traveling one hundred miles an hour, hits the angry sea, slamming people and debris into the aisles. Screams fill the air as water rises around your ankles. Dazed, you manage to get free and are shoved out an open hatch. Sea water closes over your head. Panic gives you strength to pull the tabs that inflate your vest and shoots you up to the turbulent surface.

Fellow passengers, many injured and bleeding, bob like bright-orange fishing lures around you, however there's no sign of a life raft, only the inflatable escape slide, which holds three people. Belts are tied to the slide's handles to hang on to, but hypothermia will soon take its toll, or sharks will be drawn by the injured and dead.

The plane slips under the sea leaving forty souls clinging to life. The closest help is two hours away. Once the first rescuers arrive, fifteen-foot swells impede their valiant efforts to save the crash victims.

Hopefully that exercise helped you envision the heart of this non-fiction story. The author has included tons of in-depth research that define the mistakes, the aircraft, and the many individuals involved in this catastrophe. I found the weighty amount of narrative details overshadowed the humanity of the story and made for a laborious read.

However, if you are a pilot or have a love of commercial flying, this book's detailed behind-the-scenes information may intrigue you. I give it 4 stars.

Armchair Interviews says: This story brings you into that event very clearly.

I initially bought this book because I lived on St. Croix for years and know one of the surviving passenger's, and a pilot who helped in the rescue mission.
I am now a Corporate Flight Attendant and think every crew member should read it as a learning tool for Crew Resource management. It is a lesson about what can go wrong in an emergency situation. It's an easy quick read that you can finish on a short lay over.