35 Miles From Shore

The Ditching and Rescue of ALM Flight 980

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This gallery contains images of the many former employees of Overseas National Airways (ONA). All of them were part of the story told in 35 Miles From Shore.

  • Sonesta Beach Resort. This 400 room resort hotel in the Bahamas was part of ONA’s diversification into the pleasure travel industry.
  • Bob Wagenfeld was a former navigator with ONA. He was ONA’s corporate attorney at the time of the accident.
  • ONA lost two DC-10s in landing accidents within months of each other. There were no fatalities in either accident, but both aircraft were destroyed. Photos of the accidents are in this gallery.
  • The DC-8s were used primarily for charter flying.
  • ONA DC9
  • The DC-6 was the workhorse of the early ONA. The DC-6 was used primarily for MATS flights. (Photo courtesy Balsey DeWitt)
  • One of two river boats owned and operated by ONA
  • Milt Marshall was the ALPA MEC Chairman at ONA at the time of the accident.
  • Steedman Hinckly (pronounced Stedman), shown on the left, was the charismatic President and CEO of ONA. He was just 33 years old when he resurrected ONA in 1965.
  • January 2, 1976. An ONA DC-10 is destroyed in a landing accident in Instanbul, Turkey. The plane landed short. There were no fatalities.
  • Executive VP and General Manager Bill Bailey. Bill Bailey was promoted to President and Chief Operating Officer in July, 1970 shortly after the San Juan hearings. He was a former Major in the military.
  • ONA was the first airline to have ownership in a cruise ship. This ship, named the Adventurer, was purchased from ONA by Cunard two months after the accident.
  • November 12, 1975. The Captain aborted the takeoff after injesting sea gulls in the number three engine during the takeoff roll. The plane was filled with ONA stewardesses flying to Saudi Arabia. All survived.
  • The second of two river boats owned and operated by one of ONA’s subsidiaries. The boat was designed by Steedman’s brother Albert Hinckley.
  • Assistant Chief Pilot Ed Veronelli. Captain Veronelli was involved in the planning of the JFK – St. Maarten flight. He also flew on 9 of the first 30 flights. Ed is a retired former Assistant Chief Pilot with Continental Airlines.
  • The first class of ONA stewardesses. Steedman’s future wife, Ingrid, is second from the left.