The Galunggung Gliding Club was founded by the passengers of flight BA 009 after their near-crash near Jakarta on June 24, 1982.
The aircraft had flown into a cloud of volcanic ash resulting from the eruption of Mount Galunggung. All four engines -- clogged with the nearly-invisible ash -- failed, and the plane began a rapid but controlled descent.
As pressure fell in the cabin, the oxygen masks were deployed. Some of the masks malfunctioned, however.
In an effort to reach breathable air and so keep all the passengers conscious, the pilot, Captain Eric Moody, took the plane into a nosedive.
The precipitous drop cleared the clogged engines of ash, and they unexpectedly started back up.
Amazingly, the nosedive had saved the lives of everyone on board.
Read an account of the event here.
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