not flown together since Balseyâs unfavorable evaluation during Harryâs initial training. Had it been any other captain, Harry might not have put up such a fight.
The truth was that there probably could not have been a worse pairing of captain and first officer than Balsey and Harry. The two were at opposite ends of the personality spectrum. Balsey was authoritative and could be intimidating in the cockpit. Harry was passive and lacked confidence. Harry could have elected to fly on the QUICKTRANS cargo flights. That would have given him a chance to learn the aircraft in a freight operation where mistakes are treated less harshly. But Harry wanted to be an airline pilot; he wanted to fly passengers. 7
Hugh Hart, the navigator on board, didnât care if he was flying passengers or boxes; the pay was the same. Like Harry, Hugh had learned only the day before that he was to fly the May 2 flight. The original navigator had called in sick at the last minute. The fact was that there wasnât a single navigator who enjoyed flying the St. Maarten route. The navigators knew better than anyone that they werenât really needed on the flight. The pilots could just as easily be trained to use the LORAN for the brief period where normal navigation wasnât available.
Hugh Hart was a striking figure at just over six feet tall with reddish brown hair and a full beard. His closely cropped beard, along with his preference for smoking pipes, gave him a distinguished appearance, like that of a college professor or intellectual. When Balsey heard rumors that one of the navigators was working part time as a male model, he assumed (incorrectly) that it was Hugh.
When Hugh got the call about the St. Maarten trip, the dispatcher practically begged him to take the flight, saying that he was the last resort. Hugh had flown the flight twice before. His back ached from a cold even before he got the call. Just the thought of sitting in the uncomfortable jump seat for seven and a half hours caused his backto spasm. Hugh finally agreed to take the trip, thinking it would be a good opportunity to buy some duty free rum.
Hugh had reluctantly become a navigator in the Air Force after failing the vision test for pilot training. He continued to work as a navigator after leaving the Air Force, working for various charter companies in the U.S. and Europe. He earned enough money as a navigator to attend Harvard Business School, where he obtained an MBA. He was working for a packaging company in Atlanta, Georgia when he first learned about a small upstart airline in New York called ONA.
Hugh went to ONAâs headquarters in New York and landed an interview with Steedman Hinckley. Steedman was impressed with Hughâs background. He liked that he was a former navigator. Steedman hired Hugh as his direct assistant. All Hugh was told about the position was that he would be working directly under Steedman in the areas of business planning and marketing.
From the start, Hugh was frustrated with his nebulous job duties. Steedman was gone from the office weeks at a time. The few projects that Hugh did work on were not well received. Hugh quickly formed the impression that the only reason he had been hired was so that Steedman could say in some ONA publication that they had an MBA from Harvard working for them. Feeling underutilized and underpaid, Hugh offered to fill in as a navigator. ONA was short of navigators at the time, and Hugh needed the extra income. He told Steedman that flying as a navigator would give him an opportunity to get a better feel for the operation.
Hugh flew as a full-time navigator until October 1966, at which time he resumed his management position, flying occasionally to supplement his income. He had no more success working for Steedman the second time around, and after several months of getting the run around, he made the decision to switch to flying full time while he looked for something else. Hugh became an
The truth was that there probably could not have been a worse pairing of captain and first officer than Balsey and Harry. The two were at opposite ends of the personality spectrum. Balsey was authoritative and could be intimidating in the cockpit. Harry was passive and lacked confidence. Harry could have elected to fly on the QUICKTRANS cargo flights. That would have given him a chance to learn the aircraft in a freight operation where mistakes are treated less harshly. But Harry wanted to be an airline pilot; he wanted to fly passengers. 7
Hugh Hart, the navigator on board, didnât care if he was flying passengers or boxes; the pay was the same. Like Harry, Hugh had learned only the day before that he was to fly the May 2 flight. The original navigator had called in sick at the last minute. The fact was that there wasnât a single navigator who enjoyed flying the St. Maarten route. The navigators knew better than anyone that they werenât really needed on the flight. The pilots could just as easily be trained to use the LORAN for the brief period where normal navigation wasnât available.
Hugh Hart was a striking figure at just over six feet tall with reddish brown hair and a full beard. His closely cropped beard, along with his preference for smoking pipes, gave him a distinguished appearance, like that of a college professor or intellectual. When Balsey heard rumors that one of the navigators was working part time as a male model, he assumed (incorrectly) that it was Hugh.
When Hugh got the call about the St. Maarten trip, the dispatcher practically begged him to take the flight, saying that he was the last resort. Hugh had flown the flight twice before. His back ached from a cold even before he got the call. Just the thought of sitting in the uncomfortable jump seat for seven and a half hours caused his backto spasm. Hugh finally agreed to take the trip, thinking it would be a good opportunity to buy some duty free rum.
Hugh had reluctantly become a navigator in the Air Force after failing the vision test for pilot training. He continued to work as a navigator after leaving the Air Force, working for various charter companies in the U.S. and Europe. He earned enough money as a navigator to attend Harvard Business School, where he obtained an MBA. He was working for a packaging company in Atlanta, Georgia when he first learned about a small upstart airline in New York called ONA.
Hugh went to ONAâs headquarters in New York and landed an interview with Steedman Hinckley. Steedman was impressed with Hughâs background. He liked that he was a former navigator. Steedman hired Hugh as his direct assistant. All Hugh was told about the position was that he would be working directly under Steedman in the areas of business planning and marketing.
From the start, Hugh was frustrated with his nebulous job duties. Steedman was gone from the office weeks at a time. The few projects that Hugh did work on were not well received. Hugh quickly formed the impression that the only reason he had been hired was so that Steedman could say in some ONA publication that they had an MBA from Harvard working for them. Feeling underutilized and underpaid, Hugh offered to fill in as a navigator. ONA was short of navigators at the time, and Hugh needed the extra income. He told Steedman that flying as a navigator would give him an opportunity to get a better feel for the operation.
Hugh flew as a full-time navigator until October 1966, at which time he resumed his management position, flying occasionally to supplement his income. He had no more success working for Steedman the second time around, and after several months of getting the run around, he made the decision to switch to flying full time while he looked for something else. Hugh became an
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