35 Miles from Shore (37 page)
Read 35 Miles from Shore Online
Authors: Emilio Corsetti III
3
Wind speed is always given in knots (kts.). A conversion table is used to convert from kts. to mph.
4
VASI (Visual Approach Slope Indicator) provides vertical visual approach slope guidance to aircraft during landing by radiating a directional pattern of high-intensity red-and-white focused light beams. (
Airman's Information Manual
.)
5
A number of sources were used in recreating the repeated landing attempts at St. Maarten. These include the official NTSB report, communication transcripts, hearing testimony, the written statements from all three crewmembers, and interviews with the author.
1
The term “flame out” refers to a jet engine losing its internal combustion, resulting in engine failure.
2
Horne, Thomas A. “Putting wings in the water.”
AOPA Pilot
, July 1999.
1
Wilfred Spencer interview with author. Wilfred Spencer's testimony at the NTSB hearings in San Juan, July 1970.
2
Johnson, Daniel A.
Just in Case: A Passenger's Guide to Airplane Safety and Survival
, Plenum Press, New York.
3
Special Study: Passenger survival in turbojet ditchings (a critical case review) (NTSB-AAS-72-2.)
4
Wilfred testified that he didn't remember a passenger helping him.
5
Emerson Ussery interview with author. Emerson Ussery's testimony at the NTSB hearings in San Juan, July 1970.
1
The phrase “stay clean” refers to delaying the use of flaps or the gear, which would increase drag.
2
Had the checklist been found and read, it would not have said anything about warning the passengers prior to ditching. While the emergency checklist in the plane did not call for a passenger announcement prior to ditching, the operations manual did. In part it read: Two minutes before ditching, or at 1,000 feet, one of the pilots will announce over the public address system, “Standby for Ditching,” and prior to
touchdown the command, “Brace for impact,” will be given. (Revision #42 ONA operations manual March 25, 1970.) Adding a similar statement in the aircraft emergency checklist was one of the recommendations of the NTSB.
3
The official time of the ditching was 19:49, which was within one minute of Hugh Hart's earlier estimate of time to fuel exhaustion.
4
The primary function of the stall vane transducer is to provide angle of attack data to the stall warning system.
1
Arthur Johnson's testimony at the NTSB hearings in San Juan, July 1970.
2
Jacinth Bryanth's testimony at the NTSB hearings in San Juan, July 1970.
3
Emerson Ussery's testimony at the NTSB hearings in San Juan, July 1970. Emerson Ussery interview with author.
4
Special Study: Passenger survival in turbojet ditchings (a critical case review) (NTSB-AAS-72-2.)
5
Ibid.
6
Ibid.
7
Emerson Ussery's testimony at the NTSB hearings in San Juan, July 1970. Emerson Ussery interview with author.
8
Jim Razzi did not want to be interviewed for this book. He did, however, answer questions through his daughter Christina.
9
Ibid.
1
Wilfred Spencer interview with author. Tobias doesn't remember this brief exchange.
2
Harry Evan's testimony at the NTSB hearings in San Juan, July 1970.
1
I have found one reference indicating that the captain's last name was Pash. A second reference indicates that it was Prash. I have chosen to go with Pash after talking with the flight engineer Larry Phillips.
2
Phone interview with Larry Phillips. Newspaper accounts from the
Miami Herald
and
San Juan Star
.
3
Controller Alexander Sambolin, knowing that a possible emergency was brewing, decided to stay plugged into the console. Both he and Silvia could communicate with the aircraft. E-mail interview with Alexander Sambolin.
4
Charles Silvia's testimony at the NTSB hearings in San Juan, July 1970. Alexander Sambolin's testimony at the NTSB hearings in San Juan, July 1970. Charles Saunders's testimony at the NTSB hearings in San Juan, July 1970.
1
In 1970, the AMVER database was maintained by a mainframe computer located in Washington, D.C.
2
Use of the AMVER system to locate the
Guadalcanal
is the author's assumption. The ship may also have been located through other means.
3
Point Whitehorn
deck logs. Phone interview with Kenneth P. Borrego.
4
When a pilot leaves his second radio tuned to the emergency frequency, he is considered to be guarding the frequency. Note: Military aircraft use UHF 243.0, which is double the civilian VHF emergency frequency of 121.5. There was also an emergency beacon inside the cockpit of the DC-9. Neither crewmember remembered to grab it before exiting.
1
Neither Hugh nor Wilfred remembers the other being on the same helicopter. The evidence, however, indicates that they were.
2
Charles Mayes phone interview with author. Jim Brawley's written statement dated May 19, 1970.
3
A DC-3 transiting the area also spent a few minutes circling the scene, but quickly left after determining that it could not offer any assistance.
1
Governor Evans was the first elected governor of the Virgin Islands. He took office in early 1970. The plane that he was planning to take to St. Thomas is the plane that later flew out to the scene.
2
As reported by the
Virgin Island Daily News
.
1
Several days later, Major Dennis Beckman, who had signed for the rooms, was billed several thousand dollars for use of the condominiums. The condominiums at the Estate Carlton remain today. The hotel was damaged in a hurricane and no longer exists.
1
Most airlines today have a Critical Incident Response Program (CIRP) in place to help passengers and crewmembers deal with traumatic events. Comprised of peer volunteers and mental health professionals, CIRP teams help to identify and diffuse problems before they reach an acute state.
2
Emerson claims to have handed out over a thousand dollars to passengers. None of the money was ever repaid.
3
John Dullighan. Special report supplemental sheet. “Rescue of passengers from ditched airliner.” May 4, 1970. One newspaper source indicated that the aircraft carrier
USS. America
also aided in the search for survivors. I have been unable to verify this account.
4
Phone interview with Kenneth P. Borrego.
1
Dick Baker interview with author.
2
Neither Balsey nor Hugh recollects having dinner with Steedman after the accident. My interviews with Ed Veronelli and Steve Lang indicate that they did.
3
Gerrit Walhout phone interview with author. Gerry was the co-chairman of the human factors group.
1
According to Dick Baker, the FAA does have the right to sit in on crew interviews.
2
Larry Phillips phone interview with author.
3
Martha Kellner phone interview with author. The couple's luck changed (or continued, depending on how you look at it) when they arrived in San Juan. George Kellner had a lucky streak at the casinos and won a considerable amount of money at the tables.
1
Louis McNair letter to Dick Baker. June 12, 1970.
2
Robert Abraham interview with author.
1
SA-420. Report number NTSB-AAR-71-8, March 31, 1971.
2
Their daughter Catherine is now a successful stage and film actress.
3
New York Daily News
.
4
Phone interview with G. Reuben Richards, the grandson of the Urigheres. The amount of the award listed here is his recollection and is not supported by documentation.
5
Emerson claims that he was reimbursed for the two $150,000 cashier's checks that were lost. There is no way to independently verify his claims.
1
Air Carrier Overwater Emergency Equipment and Procedures. (NTSB/SS-85-02, June 12, 1985.)
2
The book
The High and the Mighty
by Ernest K. Gann contained a number of eerie similarities to the actual ditching which took place three years after the book was published.
3
Brean, Herbert. “Ordeal on Flight 943: The Last Five Hours.”
Life Magazine
Dec., Vol. 41, No. 18: 29 October 1956.
4
Douglas DC-7C, N285 Northwest Airlines, Inc. Ditching in Sitka Sound, Alaska, October 22, 1962, Civil Aeronautics Board.
5
Flight International Magazine
.
6
Planecrashinfo.com
. I have found different figures given for the number of people on this flight. Some references have indicated that there were as few as twelve and at least one reference indicated that there were eighteen people on board.
8
Eastern Airlines L-1011 May 5, 1983 NTSB/AAR-84/04 PB84-910404. Report date March 9, 1984. Note: There is also a case on record in which a four-engine jet lost all four engines. The flight involved a British Airways Boeing 747. The plane flew through volcanic ash. Once the plane descended below the plume of ash the crew was able to restart all four engines.
9
NTSB.gov.
10
Bertorelli, Paul. “Ditching Myths Torpedoed.”
Aviation Safety
1999. Air Carrier Overwater Emergency Equipment and Procedures. NTSB/SS-85-02, June 12, 1985.
1
DC-8 Bangor, Maine 6/20/73 NTSB-AAR-74-1 Report date Feb 7, 1974.
2
NTSB.gov.
3
Ibid.
4
I could not locate this accident in the NTSB database. Several of the former ONA pilots I spoke with mentioned this accident.
Newspapers
“40 of 63 on New York Jet Safe in Caribbean Ditching.”
New York Times
3 May 1970.
“Airlines Pressing for Cruise Ship Links.”
New York Times
3 May 1970.
“Better Seat Belts For Planes Asked.”
New York Times
26 Sep. 1970.
“Board Says 57 on Airliner Got No Warning in Ditching.”
New York Times
2 June 1970.
“BWIA Jet Airliner Hijacked To Cuba.”
San Juan Star
2 May 1970.
Combined Services. “Big Eruptions on Campuses Across Nation”
New York Daily News
2 May 1970.
“Did ALM Pilot Change Mind.” Virgin Islands Charlotte Amalie
Daily News
6 May 1970.
“Dutch Antilles Jetliner Ditches Off St. Croix.” Virgin Islands Charlotte Amalie
Daily News
4 May 1970.
Dreyer, Martha. “37 Rescued, Brought to St. Croix.”
San Juan Star
3 May 1970.
Dreyer, Martha. “Rebels Ask Asylum.”
San Juan Star
2 May 1970.
Dreyer, Martha. “What Price My Dead Husband.”
San Juan Star
5 May 1970.
“Gov Evans Lauds Services Rendered by St. Croix Groups.” Virgin Islands Charlotte Amalie
Daily News
5 May 1970.
“Indifference Blamed On Jetliner Tragedy.” Virgin Islands Charlotte Amalie
Daily News
5 May 1970.
“Jetliner Ditches in Caribbean; 7 Dead, 20 Missing, 36 Survive.”
Miami Herald
3 May 1970.
Lidin, Harold J. “Pilot Had Asked Clearance to Land Here.”
San Juan Star
6 May 1970.
“Life Jackets, Debris Found From Ill-fated Jet.” Virgin Islands Charlotte Amalie
Daily News
6 May 1970.
Lindsey, Robert. “Lack of Training Cited in Ditching.”
New York Times
10 July 1970.
Lindsey, Robert. “Navigator in Ditching of DC-9 Scores Procedures.”
New York Times
9 July 1970.
Lindsey, Robert. “Pilot of Ditched Plane Testifies Public Address Unit Was Out.”
New York Times
8 July 1970.
Lindsey, Robert. “Plane Ditching Stirs Doubts at Inquiry.”
New York Times
11 July 1970.
Malone, James. “Miami Pilot: 'We Were Lucky to Find the Raft.'”
Miami Herald
3 May 1970.
McFadden, Robert D. “Rescue Craft in Caribbean Seek 22 Missing From Ditched Plane.”
New York Times
4 May 1970.
Muniz, Luis. “Ditched ALM Plane Had Enough Fuel to Reach Land, Pilot Says.”
San Juan Star
8 July 1970.