35 Miles from Shore (36 page)
Read 35 Miles from Shore Online
Authors: Emilio Corsetti III
5
The paint scheme on ONA's aircraft was white with a dark blue stripe that started narrow at the nose and expanded as it moved rearward, eventually encompassing the entire tail. The shortened “Overseas National” was used on the first jets to come on line.
6
The two airlines were ONA and ALM, the official airline of the Netherlands Antilles. ALM, which at one time was a subsidiary of KLM, used KLM's facilities and employees when operating out of JFK.
7
None of the people I've talked to can confirm this incident. Wilfred Spencer, who was the purser on the flight and the one who greeted people as they boarded, claims it never happened. According to Wilfred, had there been anything unusual with the boarding process, he would have certainly known about it. Emerson claims that the only flight attendant he encountered during this brief episode was Margareth Abraham.
8
There is no way to independently verify this story. When I asked Emerson for a name of one of the investors so that I might verify his account, he declined, stating that
he wasn't supposed to have that amount of undeclared cash in the first place and didn't want to see anyone get in trouble over it thirty-plus years later.
9
U.S. Department of Transportation.
10
The problem of hijackings would reach its zenith in September 1970 with the attempted simultaneous hijackings of four European aircraft bound for New York City. One of the hijack attempts, an El Al Boeing 707 departing Amsterdam, was thwarted by a reinforced cockpit door and two El Al Sky Marshals. A fifth aircraft was hijacked three days later in what has been dubbed “Black September.” The hijackings were carried out by the Popular Front for Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Three of the planes were blown up by the hijackers a few days later. Fortunately, all of the hostages had been released. President Nixon was so impressed with El Al's success in stopping the hijacking attempt on their plane that he implemented his own Federal Sky Marshal program days later. Metal detectors, however, would not become commonplace at airports for another four years.
11
Wilfred Spencer's testimony at the NTSB hearings in San Juan, July 1970.
12
The plane had a maximum capacity of 28,535 pounds of fuel based on a fuel density of 6.7 pounds per gallon. The plane was fueled to capacity. After fueling, the fuel totalizer read 28,900 pounds, the excess resulting from a difference in fuel density. Prior to takeoff approximately 500 pounds of fuel had been burned off during taxi and by the operation of the auxiliary power unit (APU).
13
Life rafts were not a required briefing item. Information about the life rafts could be found in the emergency briefing cards.
1
Steedman's full name was George Fox Steedman Hinckley.
2
Steedman's father did not serve in a flying capacity.
3
Exeter became coeducational in 1970.
4
The term “Supplemental Carrier” refers to a charter airline.
5
The primary financial backers were Louis Marx Jr., Charles Hickox, Neil McConnell, and Dan Lufkin. All were close friends of Steedman's. Louis Marx Jr., a member of the Marx Toys family, was a Princeton classmate of Steedman's. Steedman also invested $375,000 of his own money.
6
Phone interview with Ingrid Hinckley. A secretary showed Ingrid the notation on the application a few months after Ingrid arrived in New York.
7
Steedman's first wife was Judy Gonsczo. They had a son, George Fox Steedman Hinckley, Jr. Steedman's wife gained custody of their son after the divorce.
8
Phone interview with Ingrid Hinckley.
9
June 1967 Prospectus.
10
1968 Annual Report.
11
1969 Annual Report.
12
In a wet lease, the cost of fuel is included in the lease.
13
The Netherlands Antilles consisted of six islands: Curaçao, Aruba, Bonaire, St. Maarten, Saba and St. Eustatius. Aruba became an independent nation in 1986.
14
St. Maarten is the Dutch spelling. The French refer to the island as Saint Martin. The main airport is on the Dutch side, so I have used this one spelling throughout the book.
15
Steedman Hinckley's testimony at the NTSB hearings in San Juan, July 1970.
1
There were many people involved in the negotiations of the wet-lease agreement. For simplicity's sake, I mention only Octavio and Steedman.
2
Steedman Hinckley's testimony at the NTSB hearings in San Juan, July 1970. Ingrid also accompanied Steedman on the flight to Curaçao.
3
An NDB approach is a non-precision approach. It is a low-cost, low-maintenance means of providing guidance to an airport in instrument conditions. NDB approaches are common in remote locations.
4
February 6, 1969 memo from Bill Bailey to all navigators.
5
Steedman Hinckley's testimony at the NTSB hearings in San Juan, July 1970.
1
Book Sense online database.
2
New York Times
, May 2, 1970.
3
Problems with fuel probes are ongoing even today. The union for one airline sent out the following warning to its pilot group in early January 2006: “[The airline] has reduced the frequency of draining the fuel sumps on MD-80's. This leaves additional water in the tanks. The additional water encourages increased microbial growth. This, along with age-related deterioration of the polyurethane coatings on the fuel gauge probes, has led to a few incidents where inaccurate fuel quantity readings have been noted. The worst case so far involved an aircraft flaming out an engine on approach to ORD with 3,000 lbs indicating in the tank.”
4
ONA was the launch customer for the cargo version of the DC-9. The plane had larger landing gear than the regular DC-9. It was determined much later that the larger landing gear and other reinforcements were the cause of the higher fuel burns. The fuel planning charts were subsequently adjusted. This occurred well after the ditching.
5
The figures presented here are the averages for the first thirty flights, not the first dozen flights as indicated in the text. It is assumed that the numbers would have been very similar. Load factor refers to the percentage of seats occupied.
6
Steedman Hinckley's testimony at the NTSB hearings in San Juan July 1970.
7
April 30, 1970 letter from Paul H. Patten, Director Operational Engineering Douglas Aircraft Company to Mr. M. Starkloff.
8
Carl Morgan's testimony at the NTSB hearings in San Juan July 1970. In later testimony, a figure of 4,300 pounds of fuel was indicated for this same flight. I've chosen the 3,400 lb figure because the same figure appears in testimony given by Ed Veronelli, who was also on the flight. Balsey denies landing with fuel this low.
9
Ed Veronelli Pilot Bulletin #57-70.
10
Ibid.
11
The alternate fuel was computed as follows: En Route reserve (10% of flight time) 2,100 pounds; fuel to alternate (St. Thomas) 2,100 pounds; hold fuel at 1,500 feet (30 minutes) 2,200 pounds.
12
Official NTSB report. NTSB-AAR-71-B. Total fuel capacity was 28,535 pounds based on a fuel density of 6.7 pounds per gallon.
1
While Bermuda is often referred to as a single island, Bermuda actually comprises many small islands, with several of the larger land masses interconnected by roadways.
2
Several pilots I talked to commented on Balsey's reluctance to fly high.
3
The nickname “cherub-faced assassin” came up several times in interviews with former ONA pilots.
4
Ed Veronelli interview with author.
5
Modern-day jet aircraft use both leading edge slats and trailing edge flaps to provide additional lift at low speeds. A zero-flaps, slats-only takeoff allows the aircraft to accelerate quickly, an advantage at high altitude airports.
6
Ed was promoted to assistant chief pilot of the DC-9 fleet. Balsey's assistant chief pilot, Boyd Michael, was promoted to chief pilot. Boyd spent most of his time in Dayton, Ohio where ONA had a DC-9 crew base.
1
Harry Evans testimony at the NTSB hearings in San Juan, July 1970.
2
Ibid.
3
Ed Veronelli interview with author.
4
Ibid.
5
In addition to Military Airlift Command (MAC) flying, ONA had contracts with both the Air Force and the Navy transporting cargo between military installations in the continental United States. The contract with the Air Force was known as Logistic Air Support (LOGAIR). A similar but smaller contract with the Navy was called Quick Transport (Quicktrans). ONA also participated in Commercial Air Movements (CAMS) charters. These were usually short-notice charters involving the movement of military personnel.
6
Harry Evans testimony at the NTSB hearings in San Juan, July 1970.
7
Tom Murphy phone interview with author.
8
Hugh Hart interview with author.
1
It's hard to say with any degree of certainty where everyone was sitting. Several passengers moved after boarding. The records for the flight have been either lost or destroyed. The seat assignments given here are based on passenger interviews and other sources.
2
Ellen Gemelsbacker phone interview with author. Peggy Rumore phone interview with author. (Peggy is one of Gene's sisters.) Loretta Gremelsbacker, who has since remarried, did not want to be interviewed for this book.
3
Rick Arnold interview with author.
4
Jeannie Larmony interview with author.
5
Israel Kruger interview with author.
6
E-mail from Christina Razzi.
7
Emerson Ussery interview with author.
1
Hats were required uniform items for both male and female flight attendants. The steward uniform resembled those worn by the pilots. Stewardesses wore a white blouse and a dark blue skirt cut to just above the knees. White gloves and a dark blue cap completed the outfit. It was the same uniform worn by the KLM stewardesses.
2
E-mail interview with Robby Schouten. Interview with Margareth's brothers Robert and Carol Abraham.
3
Wilfred Spencer interview with author.
4
Tobias Cordeiro interview with author.
5
Kristina Linder's testimony at the NTSB hearings in San Juan, July 1970. It's unclear from her testimony whether or not she ever gave instructions indicating that ONA used three bells to signal an emergency. Two of the flight attendants with whom I've spoken, who were in the class, do not remember any discussion regarding more than two bells.
6
Johnson, Daniel A.
Just in Case: A Passenger's Guide to Airplane Safety and Survival
. New York: Plenum Press.
7
Kristina Linder's testimony at the NTSB hearings in San Juan, July 1970.
1
Weather Group Chairman's factual report. Hubert McCaleb, June 16, 1970.
2
Bill Bohlke interview with author. ALM 980 passenger Emerson Ussery was one of Bill's students.
3
Ibid.
4
John Barber interview with author.
5
James Rylee interview with author.
6
Bill Shields interview with author.
7
Carmond Fitzgerald phone interview with author.
1
The story about the watch was told to me by Robby Schouten. Margareth's actions related to the watch are speculations by the author.
2
The Juliana tower did not record radio transmissions. The Isla Grande tower, however, which used the same 118.7 tower frequency as St. Maarten, did record its transmissions. The interference Balsey reports having was traffic at the Isla Grande airport. The airport in St. Maarten was named Juliana after Princess Juliana of the Netherlands. Note: Times are shown in UTC (18:48 = 2:48 pm).
3
In the U.S., visibility is given in statute miles. St. Maarten, which was controlled by the Dutch, reported its visibility in nautical miles.
4
The goal of Crew Resource Management training is to improve the interpersonal communication, decision making, and leadership skills of aircraft crews.
1
Aircraft navigate through space by reference to a heading comprised of 360 degrees. A 090-degree heading would indicate an easterly direction. The words vector and heading are interchangeable.
2
When landing on a wet runway, the regulations call for the landing distance to be increased by 115% of the dry runway landing distance. For example: dry landing distance 4,500 feet; wet landing distance 5,175 feet (4,500 * 115%).