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During the second week of January, 1982, one of the worst periods of exceptionally cold weather in history had stricken the east coast of the United States. Atlanta, Georgia recorded freezing temperatures, and the citrus crop in Florida was considered to be a risk. Around the nation's capital, for several days, freezing temperatures had brought vehicles to a standstill and interfered with daily activities.
During the second week of January, 1982, one of the worst periods of exceptionally cold weather in history had stricken the east coast of the United States. Atlanta, Georgia recorded freezing temperatures, and the citrus crop in Florida was considered to be a risk. Around the nation's capital, for several days, freezing temperatures had brought vehicles to a standstill and interfered with daily activities.


At Washington National Airport, immediately across the Potomac River from Washington DC, Air Florida Flight 90's scheduled departure time was delayed about 1 hour 45 minutes due to a moderate to heavy snowfall, which necessitated the temporary closing of the airport.
At Washington National Airport, immediately across the Potomac River from Washington DC, the airport had opened at 12 noon under marginal conditions. The crew of Air Florida Flight 90 had left [[Miami Florida|Miami]] at 11:00 AM EDT, and arrived at about 1:45 PM. EDT. Their scheduled departure time to return south was delayed about 1 hour 45 minutes due to a moderate to heavy snowfall, which necessitated the temporary closing of the airport.


== Delays, poor decisions, crash ==
== Delays, poor decisions, crash ==

Revision as of 10:05, 7 February 2005

File:Ntsb diagram.jpg
U.S. National Transportation Safety Board diagram of flight path for Air Florida flight 90 which crashed on take-off at Washington, DC on January 13, 1982, killing 78 persons.

Air Florida Flight 90 was an Air Florida flight of a Boeing 737-222 (#N62AF) which crashed in Washington, DC on January 13, 1982 immediately after take-off. It was on a Washington National Airport, Washington, DC (DCA)–Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Fort Lauderdale, Florida (FLL) route, with an intermediate stop at Tampa International Airport, Tampa, Florida (TPA). There were 74 passengers, including 3 infants, and 5 crew members on board. All but 5 died. The aircraft struck 7 occupied vehicles on a bridge and tore away a railing, killing 4 more people. A total of 78 persons died.

Record cold weather conditions

During the second week of January, 1982, one of the worst periods of exceptionally cold weather in history had stricken the east coast of the United States. Atlanta, Georgia recorded freezing temperatures, and the citrus crop in Florida was considered to be a risk. Around the nation's capital, for several days, freezing temperatures had brought vehicles to a standstill and interfered with daily activities.

At Washington National Airport, immediately across the Potomac River from Washington DC, the airport had opened at 12 noon under marginal conditions. The crew of Air Florida Flight 90 had left Miami at 11:00 AM EDT, and arrived at about 1:45 PM. EDT. Their scheduled departure time to return south was delayed about 1 hour 45 minutes due to a moderate to heavy snowfall, which necessitated the temporary closing of the airport.

Delays, poor decisions, crash

After leaving the departure gate, the Boeing 737-222 aircraft waited on a taxiway 49 minutes for clearance to use the congested airport's only available runway. Then, with snow and ice on the airfoil surfaces of the aircraft, the aircraft attempted to take off from Washington National Airport in heavy snow at 3:59 PM EDT. Even though it was freezing and snowing, the crew did not activate the anti-ice systems. This caused engine thrust indicators to provide falsely high readings, and the takeoff was attempted at only 71% thrust. The aircraft traveled almost 1/2 mile (800 m) further down the runway than is customary before liftoff was accomplished. However, although the aircraft did manage to become airborne, it failed to gain altitude. At 4:01 PM EDT. it crashed into the 14th Street Bridge across the Potomac River 0.75 nautical miles (1400 m) from the end of the runway. It hit six cars and a truck on the bridge. It then fell into the freezing Potomac River. All but the tail section quickly became submerged.

4 of the 5 crew members and 70 of the 74 passengers perished, leaving 6 survivors in the freezing water out of the 79 who had been aboard the aircraft. There were also four fatalities among the motorists on the bridge, with four others on the bridge injured.

Hampered response, unlikely heroes

The blizzard conditions had happened fairly suddenly on this day, and many Federal Government offices in downtown Washington has just been closed early. Thus, there was a massive backup of traffic on almost all of the city's roads. The United States Coast Guard Cutter Capstan (WYTL 65601) a 65-foot harbor tugboat and its crew based nearby whose duties include ice breaking and responding to such a water rescue were some considerable distance away downriver on another rescue mission. Emergency ground response was greatly hampered by ice covered roads and gridlocked traffic. Ambulances attempting to reach the scene were even driven down the sidewalk in front of the White House.

One man, Roger Olian, a sheet-metal foreman at St Elizabeth's, a Washington hospital for the mentally ill, was on his way home across the 14th Street bridge in his truck when he heard a man yelling that there was an aircraft in the water. He was the first to jump into the water to attempt to contact the survivors. Other motorists and civilian bystanders made a makeshift rope of battery cables, scarves, and anything else they could find to keep Olian from drowning. He remained in the water for about twenty minutes until a United States Park Service Police helicopter arrived, whereupon he was reeled back to shore by the others, while the helipcopter crew focused on the crash victims clinging to the tail section of the plane.

The only rescue helicopter arrives

News cameramen watched helplessly from the bridge, being only able to record the disaster for the rest of the world to see. Suddenly hope arrived in the form of a park police helicopter, trailing a lifeline reaching to the outstretched arms of the victims in the water below. At approximately 4:20 PM EDT, Eagle 1, a United States Park Service police helicopter based at the "Eagles Nest" at Anacostia Park in Washington DC and manned by pilot Donald W. Usher and paramedic Melvin E. (Gene) Windsor arrived and assisted at great risk to themselves, at one time getting so close to the ice-clogged river that the helicopter's skids went beneath the surface of the water. As the helicopter crew lowered a line to the survivors for towing them to shore, one survivor, later identified as Arland D. Williams Jr., was still attached to part of the plane. He repeatedly passed the line to others, After lifting and towing two badly injured passengers to shore one at a time, when the helicopter returned, an attempt was made to use 2 lines to haul 3 more, and two fell back into the icy water. By then one of these was too weak to grab the line. A watching bystander, a government office assistant Lenny Skutnik, stripped off his coat and boots, and in short sleeves, dove into the icy water, and swam out to assist her. The helicopter then proceeded to where the other passengers had fallen, and paramedic Gene Windsor dropped from the safety of the helicopter into the water to attach a line to her. By the time the helicopter crew could return for Arland Williams, the last survivor, he and the airplane's tail section had disappeared beneath the icy surface. His body and those of the other occupants were later recovered. According to the coroner, Arland Williams who passed the lifeline to others was the only plane passenger to die by drowning.

A half hour later, the Washington Metro suffered its first fatal subway crash, which meant that the busiest airport, busiest highway and busiest subway line were all closed simultaneously, paralyzing the Washington DC area.

Freedom of speech

As the community almost unanimously recoiled in shock from the multiple accidents and loss of life, Howard Stern, then with local station DC101, gained notoriety the next day when he called Air Florida, on-air, and asked what the fare was for a one-way ticket from National Airport to the 14th Street Bridge.

NTSB faults pilots

The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the probable cause of this accident was "the flight crew’s failure to use engine anti-ice during ground operation and takeoff, their decision to take off with snow/ice on the airfoil surfaces of the aircraft, and the captain’s failure to reject the takeoff during the early stage when his attention was called to anomalous engine instrument readings.

"Contributing to the accident were the prolonged ground delay between de-icing and the receipt of ATC takeoff clearance during which the aircraft was exposed to continual precipitation, the known inherent pitchup characteristics of the B-737 aircraft when the leading edge is contaminated with even small amounts of snow or ice, and the limited experience of the flight crew in jet transport winter operations."

Honoring heroisim

The passenger who had survived the crash and had repeatedly given up the rescue lines to other survivors before drowning himself was identified as a 46 year old bank examiner, Arland D. Williams Jr.

Lenny Skutnik and Roger Olian were each awarded the United States Coast Guard's Gold Lifesaving Medal, as was Arland D. Williams Jr., posthumously.

United States Park Service police officers Donald W. Usher and Melvin E. Windsor were awarded the United States Coast Guard Silver Lifesaving Medal for their heroism with their helicopter.

The U.S. Park Service is part of the United States Department of the Interior. Pilot Donald W. Usher and paramedic Melvin E. Windsor received the Department of the Interior's Valor Award from Secretary of the Interior James G. Watt in a special ceremony soon afterward.

Roger Olian, Lennie Skutnik, Donald Usher, and Melvin Windsor each recieved the Carnegie Hero Fund Medal.

The repaired 14th Street Bridge over the Potomac River at the crash site, which had been officially named the "Rochambeau Bridge", was renamed the "Arland D. Williams Jr. Memorial Bridge" in his honor. The Citadel in South Carolina, from which he graduated in 1957, has several several memorials to him. In 2003, the new Arland D. Williams Jr. Elementary School was dedicated in Mattoon, Illinois.