Uploaded September 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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A passenger jet, miles from land, low on fuel and running out of options.... the year is 1970 and Flight ALM 980 was heading for St. Maarten’s runway but after a catastrophic series of events, ended up ditching into the ocean. How did they end up here? Find out.

0:00 - Intro
1:15 - What was ALM Flight 980's flight route?
10:00 - Who were the Pilots of ALM Flight 980?
20:00 - What was the weather like for ALM 980?
36:00 - How ALM 980 prepared for an ocean ditching
42:00 - What happened when ALM 980 hit the water?
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Below you will find the links to videos and sources used in this episode.

SOURCES
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Final Report: ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/AAR7108.pdf
NTSB

A Norwegian airforce C-130 Hercules showing a rocket assisted JATO takeoff at Gardermoen air show 1994
youtube.com/watch?v=RtxqtPs2eDk

Aircraft Used: McDonnell Douglas DC 9 by SKYSIMULATIONS
secure.simmarket.com/sky-simulations-skysimulations-dc-9-msfs2420.phtml

St Maarten Takeoff: Dan's Flying & Things Via YouTube
youtube.com/watch?v=qsKVI6gYSGE&ab_channel=Dan%27sFlying%26Things

St Maarten Landing 747: KLM Via YouTube
youtube.com/watch?v=irgpI3PkOf0&ab_channel=KLMRoyalDutchAirlines

DC8: Jon Proctor
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overseas_National_Airways

DC9: Public Domain
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overseas_National_Airways

Lockheed Electra: Jon Proctor
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overseas_National_Airways

McDonnell Douglass HQ: The Rock Road Reporter
rockroadreporter.blogspot.com/p/joes-six-pack.html

Douglas DC 9: Classic Airliners & Vintage Pop Culture
youtube.com/watch?v=BwaS6XTF82Y&ab_channel=ClassicAirliners%26VintagePopCulture

Glideslope Station: Herr-K
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glide_path#/media/File:EDDV-ILS_09R_Glideslope.jpg

Localiser: Csnoke
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instrument_landing_system_localizer#/media/File:Localizer_M39.jpg

FAA Archieve:
youtube.com/watch?v=5B6C25lPaos&ab_channel=FederalAviationAdministration

ONA Flyer: onacrew.com
admiralcloudberg.medium.com/down-in-deep-water-the-ditching-of-alm-antillean-airlines-flight-980-0e2cd19970ad

Song of the Clouds - Air Travel in 1956 | Shell Historical Film Archive
youtube.com/watch?v=QG-4bjOF4OY&ab_channel=Shell

Tactical Air Power: Charlie Dean Archives
youtube.com/watch?v=7DbGNIfQ6dc&ab_channel=CharlieDeanArchives

JATO 1:
youtube.com/watch?v=BnUsAJyPuyg&ab_channel=FrankieHMChannel%26PlaneSpotting

JATO 2:
admiralcloudberg.medium.com/down-in-deep-water-the-ditching-of-alm-antillean-airlines-flight-980-0e2cd19970ad

Margareth Abraham: curacao-airport.com
curacao-airport.com/history-margareth-abraham

Captain DeWitt
emiliocorsetti.com/remembering-balsey-dewitt

Captain DeWitt Interivew used with permission from Emilio Corsetti
emiliocorsetti.com/remembering-the-missing

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