35 Miles from Shore (35 page)

Balsey was working part time in a sporting goods shop when the principal for the local high school stopped by. They were talking about the upcoming school year when the principal mentioned that he had a mechanical engineering class but hadn't yet hired a teacher. Balsey had done some drafting work and had taken a few engineering classes, so he offered his services. Balsey went to work that fall. For the first time in many years Balsey was teaching again.

Balsey felt at home in the classroom. He eventually went back to school himself and earned a degree in mathematics, a subject he loved almost as much as flying. He also received a teaching certificate. Balsey taught mathematics at the local college and also for a short time at a nearby prison before retiring. Edith still works at the nursing home. They live in the home that Balsey built on his grandfather's farm.

Hugh Hart, who was the least culpable in the accident, and who was responsible for helping passengers in the water by inflating the escape slide, spent much of the next five years fighting his dismissal from ONA. Hugh was initially represented by a lawyer for the navigators union. A hearing held in August 1970 ended in a stalemate. Hugh then hired his own attorney. Thus began a long legal process that would drag on for nearly four and a half years before a final hearing with an arbitrator was arranged. The company agreed to
pay Hugh a severance package of $25,000, equal to what the other navigators had received. ONA stopped using navigators in 1971. Hugh couldn't collect back pay because the company argued that since he was in a leg cast after the accident he could not have performed his duties as a navigator. Hugh bought a sailboat with his settlement, though he didn't live near water and the boat went unused. Hugh worked off and on in real estate.

Harry Evans was the only one of the three ONA flight crewmembers to resume his flying career. The FAA returned his ATP certificate after the public hearings. Harry went to work for a short time in Las Vegas, flying scenic tour flights over the Grand Canyon. From there he worked his way back up the ladder, obtaining type ratings on a number of jet aircraft.

Wilfred Spencer continued flying for ALM but never again felt comfortable in the air. Seven years after the accident, Wilfred decided that he could no longer perform his duties and maintain his health. He asked to be reassigned to a non-flying position. ALM agreed but stipulated that he be paid a wage equal to the position it was willing to offer him. The pay was substantially less than his purser pay. Wilfred saw a specialist who told him that he had a fear of flying. He spent two years on disability before ALM officially dismissed him.

During his time at ALM, Wilfred pursued his interest in union work, eventually holding a top position in the flight attendants union. After leaving ALM, Wilfred was elected to head one of the largest labor unions in Curaçao. As of this writing, he still works for the union on a limited basis.

Tobias (Tito) Cordeiro stayed with ALM another seven years before leaving to work for an insurance company. He eventually purchased a McDonald's franchise on the island of Aruba, where he lives. The success of that first franchise led to the purchase of a second restaurant. Tobias then expanded to Curaçao, where he currently operates four McDonald's franchises. Tobias lives in a beautiful house overlooking the Caribbean Sea. The spectacular view from his house is made even more stunning by the luscious flowers and trees planted and cared for by his lovely wife Mireya. They have two daughters — Marnia and Monica.

The Dutch Government formally honored Margareth Aleida Abraham by naming a plaza at the Curaçao International Airport in her name. She was also recognized by President Richard Nixon, who presented her family and ALM officials with a plaque that still hangs on a wall at the Curaçao International Airport. The plaque reads as follows:

A citizen of the Netherlands Antilles and a Stewardess of the Netherlands Antilles Airlines, Margareth Abraham courageously sacrificed her life for others on May 2, 1970. As a DC-9 jet prepared for an emergency landing in the Caribbean Sea, Margareth assisted her Antillean and American passengers in donning life vests, calming fears, and readying themselves for the crash. Showing no concern for her own safety, Margareth died for the sake of the passengers entrusted in her care.

This act of selfless heroism will abide forever in the hearts of her aviation colleagues, her countrymen, and her friends in the United States.

Richard M. Nixon

Steedman Hinckley succeeded in turning ONA into a premier charter airline. Financial pressures brought on by two economic downturns in less than five years, however, strained the company's resources. After selling off the river boats and the cruise ship, Steedman had to unload the hotel project as well. He continued to acquire new aircraft, but a string of unfortunate accidents cast a dark cloud over the company.

On June 20, 1973, a DC-8 was involved in an accident in Bangor, Maine. The flight originated in Tampa, Florida and was destined for Geneva, Switzerland via Bangor and Amsterdam, the Netherlands. During the takeoff-roll, the plane blew two tires on the right main landing gear. The captain aborted the takeoff. Fire erupted as a result of friction between the metal wheels and the pavement. The fire spread to the right wing and right side of the fuselage. Thirty-four of the 251 passengers on board were injured, three seriously. Most of the injuries occurred during the evacuation.
¹

The next accident occurred on November 12, 1975 and involved a DC-10 on a flight from JFK to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The aircraft ingested sea gulls in the number three (right) engine during takeoff. The Captain aborted the takeoff, but damage caused to the number three engine hindered his attempt to decelerate the aircraft. The tires blew, the landing gear collapsed, and the right engine caught fire.
Eventually, the entire aircraft was engulfed in flames. There were two serious injuries but no fatalities. The flight carried 139 passengers and crew, mostly ONA flight attendants who were being repositioned for a temporary crew base in Saudi Arabia.
²

A few months later on Jan 2, 1976, a second DC-10 was destroyed in a landing accident in Istanbul, Turkey. The plane landed short. There were no fatalities.
³

The last accident to befall ONA occurred in 1977. A DC-8 carrying a load of cigarettes to Africa landed some 2,200 feet short of the runway. The captain and flight engineer were killed. This accident was especially devastating to ONA. The captain, who was well liked and had been with ONA for many years, was only two weeks away from retirement. The cause of the accident has never been determined.
⁴

The string of accidents tarnished ONA's image as a first-class airline. The airline was saddled with the undeserved nickname of “Often Never Arrives.” Although few deaths resulted from the accidents, the financial hit the airline took from the loss of revenue, higher insurance premiums, and other related expenses, soured interest in the airline from its financial backers. Steedman was voted out of the CEO position in 1977.

Faced with an expected increase in competition resulting from airline deregulation, the board members of ONA decided to cease operations in early 1978. They concluded that ONA's assets and options on new aircraft were worth more if sold piecemeal than if kept together as an operating airline.

Shortly after the decision was made to cease operations at ONA, Steedman began work on starting up another airline. He once again found financial backers and started United Air Carriers. The new airline provided aircraft and crews to other airlines when those airlines needed extra capacity. Steedman purchased a couple of DC-8s
to fill in for Saudi Arabian Airlines during the pilgrimage to Mecca. As he had done previously with ONA, Steedman hired people with whom he was familiar to help run and manage his new airline. He even called Balsey to see if he would be interested in flying again. Balsey turned him down, telling Steedman that he had been away from flying for too long and his heart wasn't in it anymore.

By 1980, Steedman had done well enough in Saudi Arabia that he had the capital and resources to start up ONA once again. He folded United Air Carriers into ONA and moved his operations back to New York. Bill Bailey was hired to help run the company. Steedman thrived on the challenges of starting and running a new company. He worked tirelessly, pursuing old and new customers. When Pan American Airlines went out of business, Steedman purchased the name National Airlines, which Pan Am owned. It's unclear from the record whether Steedman operated under the name National Airlines. Economic pressures brought on by a sagging economy forced him to liquidate yet again. The name National Airlines was sold to a company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. That company operated under the name National Airlines until it ceased operations in December of 2002.

Steedman died of cancer in 1996. He is survived by his wife Ingrid, his son George Fox Steedman Hinckley Jr., and his two daughters, Annalisa and Katherine.

Ed Veronelli remained with ONA until the company ceased operations in 1978. He resigned from his management position within a year of the hearings in San Juan. He wasn't comfortable with the infighting among ONA's upper management. When Steedman started United Air Carriers, he offered Ed the position of Director of Operations. The job required a move to Saudi Arabia. Ed didn't
want to move to Saudi Arabia, especially when there were abundant opportunities in the newly deregulated airline industry. He turned Steedman down and went to work for Air Jamaica. Ed worked for several airlines during the turbulent early years of deregulation, eventually ending up at Continental Airlines. Ed retired in 2001 as an assistant chief pilot at Continental Airlines.

After the ditching of ALM 980, Octavio (Tawa) Irausquin arranged for Northeast Airlines to fly the New York–St. Maarten route using a Boeing 727. ALM suspended the flights in 1979 due to competition by American and Eastern Airlines. Octavio continued to modernize his fleet of aircraft, but geographical limitations restricted the overall growth of the airline. Octavio left ALM in 1983 and lived for a short time in Miami. He moved back to Aruba in 1984 to work with the government of Aruba in establishing a Civil Aviation Department. Aruba gained independence in 1986, at which time Octavio became the Director of Civil Aviation. Octavio was also instrumental in starting the first official airline in Aruba, becoming the president of Air Aruba in 1988. He remained in that position until he retired in 1993. Octavio lives in Aruba and works part time as an aviation consultant.

ALM had no other accidents while Octavio was president. It did, however, have a hijacking of an F-27 to Cuba. In 1997, ALM changed its name to Air ALM. The airline ceased operations shortly after the September 11, 2001 hijackings. The airline had been experiencing financial difficulties prior to the hijackings. The loss of revenue from the temporary suspension of some of its routes was enough to force the airline to close its doors. The airline's routes are now flown by several local and foreign carriers.

Three months after pulling passenger Julius Isenberg from the waters of the Caribbean, John Barber received orders for Vietnam. He had less than a year to go in the Marines. He could have spent his final months at New River, but he felt compelled to serve in Vietnam. His father had served as an Army Medic in the second World War, and he had an uncle who had gone ashore on D-Day. He felt a sense of duty. So he made a point of getting to know the people in the clerk's office. When orders came for a helicopter crew, John Barber was first to sign up. He left for the Marble Mountain Air Facility located five miles south of DaNang on August 3, 1970. He flew as crew chief on combat missions for five months while in Vietnam and received over twenty-one combat air medals. John Barber was discharged from the Marines on April 21, 1971. He was married six months later. He currently works as a fireman for the Boston Fire Department.

Jim Rylee was promoted to Executive Officer of VC-8 Composite Squadron one month after the ditching. It was the highest position he could obtain in the Navy without a college degree. Jim retired from the Navy a month later. He went to work flying helicopters for a petroleum company. Jim passed away in February 2004.

Bill Bohlke Jr. returned to his job with Trans Caribbean Airlines. That airline was later purchased by American Airlines. Bill remained with American Airlines until his retirement in November of 2005. At the time of his retirement, Bill was number three in seniority at American and was a senior captain flying international routes on the Boeing 777. Bill and his wife Tuddy still operate an FBO on the island of St. Croix.

After the ditching and rescue, Bill's dad initiated a campaign to have George Stoute released from prison. He petitioned prison officials and Governor Melvin Evans. His motivation was not entirely altruistic. George was a good mechanic, and Bill Bohlke Sr. needed a full time mechanic. The efforts paid off, and George Stoute was granted a pardon by Governor Evans for his participation in the rescue. Unfortunately, the law required that he also be deported. He was a free man, but he could no longer live and work in St. Croix. He returned to Barbados. His whereabouts today are unknown.

¹
The requirement for the navigator was a contractual obligation enforced by the navigator's union and not a regulatory requirement.

²
The term “flight attendant” was not in use in 1970. It is used here and throughout the book to avoid overuse of the words steward, stewardess, and purser.

³
ONA DC-9 Operations Manual.

⁴
St. Maarten, located in the northern Caribbean, holds the distinction of being the world's smallest land mass shared by two sovereign nations. The French rule a large portion of the northern island (twenty-one square miles), while the Dutch rule the southern part (sixteen square miles). Visitors and residents can travel to either part of the island without restrictions. The French side is known for its nude beaches, while the south is known for its duty-free shops, hotels, and gambling. Gambling is illegal on the French side. (From
Frommers Caribbean
.)