ALM 980
2 May 1970 · Fuel Starvation & ManagementALM FLIGHT 980
McDonnell Douglas DC-9 · ALM Antillean Airlines · Image: Wikimedia Commons
Why it happened
Missed approaches burned the reserves
Fuel reserve policy
Diversion decision-making
Ditching
Aircraft
McDonnell Douglas DC-9
ALM Antillean Airlines
Route
Curaçao (CUR)
→ St. Maarten (SXM)
People
63 on board
23 fatalities
Date
2 May 1970
Flight crew
Captain: Balsey DeWitt
Category
Fuel Starvation & Management
Empty tanks at altitude.
THE STORY
Three missed approaches in bad weather burned the reserves dry. The DC-9 ditched in the Caribbean — one of the last open-water ditchings of the jet age.