35 Miles From Shore: The Ditching and Rescue of ALM Flight 980

35 Miles From Shore: The Ditching and Rescue of ALM Flight 980 by Emilio Corsetti III tells of the events leading up to the ditching and what happened during the rescue and the aftermath of the ditching. Flight 980 is the one and only open water ditching of a commercial airline jet.

This true story about a jet ditching is a riveting read. Corsetti is able to tell the reader what happened in a clear, concise manner. Even with all the technical parts of flying an airplane, Corsetti made it easy to understand. I found his end notes and his bottom of the page notes very helpful in furthering my understanding as to what was happening.

The most intense part for me was the crash and the rescue. I saw and felt the chaos that had developed when the crew and passengers realized that they had to ditch the plane. The frustration of looking for the life vest under the seats and trying to get them to fit properly. The anxiety of trying to retrieve a life raft and it being accidentally inflated by a passenger inside the plane and then the stewards were unable to get it out of the plane.

After I finished reading the book I thought WOW!! I am so glad that I read this book. If you like true survival books or even if you don't; this book is worth the read. If you want to know more definitely read this book.

About The Author: (from the book)

Emilio Corsetti III is a professional pilot and regional and national publications including Chicago Tribune, Multimedia Producer, and Professional Pilot Magazine. A graduate of St. Louis University, Emilio has been covering aviation and space topics for more than fifteen years. This is his first book. For more information about the author and this book, please visit the author's web site at http://www.emiliocorsetti.com/.

On a personal note:

I don't know if I should say this or not but I am. Corsetti's home town is Lake St. Louis, MO. The coincidence is that I grew up about 5 miles from Lake St. Louis in O'Fallon, MO. My parents still live there. What a small world.