Download 35 Miles from Shore: The Ditching and Rescue of ALM Flight 980 AudioBook Free
On May 2, 1970, a DC-9 aircraft with 57 passengers and a crew of six departed New York's JFK AIRPORT TERMINAL on the way to the exotic island of St. Maarten. The air travel ended four hours and 34 minutes later in the shark-infested waters of the Caribbean. It had been, and remains, the only open-water ditching of an commercial jet. The next recovery of survivors needed nearly three hours and included the coast officer, navy, and marines. This gripping consideration of this fateful day recounts that which was going on inside the cabin, the cockpit, and the helicopters as the crews struggled against the weather and dwindling daylight to rescue the survivors who've only their life vests and a lone escape chute to keep them afloat.
