then to st. croix when he finds out it's even closer. but as the plane is climbing away from the airport in a torrential downpour, there's a problem. >> my navigator said to me, balsey, my god, look at the fuel gauges. >> because of the wind, the turbulence and the conditions, the airplane was rocking back and forth as it was climbing. the fuel totalizer was spinning. >> i told him not to worry about it because i considered it was probably -- you know, being low on fuel to begin with, the turbulence and sloshing up and down in the tanks might cause this. >> but at 6,500 feet warning lights indicating low fuel pressure illuminate and captain dewitt knows just how grave this situation has become. >> he talks to the controller, how far are we from st. thomas? i've got five minutes of fuel, i'm not going to make st. thomas. >> i briefed the crew that we would keep going to st. croix but we were going to set up for a possible ditching. it's dark. it's overcast. it's raining.