Air Florida Flight 90

Air Florida Flight 90 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight operated from Washington National Airport (now Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport) to Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport, with an intermediate stopover at Tampa International Airport, that crashed into the 14th Street Bridge over the Potomac River just after takeoff from Washington National Airport on January 13, 1982. The Boeing 737-200 that executed the flight, registered as N62AF, struck the bridge, which carries Interstate 395 between Washington, D.C., and Arlington County, Virginia, hitting seven occupied vehicles and destroying of guard rail

Wheaton was described by fellow pilots as a quiet person, with good operational skills and knowledge, who had operated well in high-workload flying situations. His leadership style was described as similar to those of other pilots. On May 8, 1980, though, he was suspended after failing a Boeing 737 company line check and was found to be unsatisfactory in these areas: adherence to regulations, checklist usage, flight procedures such as departures and autopilot usage, and approaches and landings. He resumed his duties after passing a retest on August 27, 1980.

Weather conditions

On Wednesday, January 13, 1982, Washington National Airport (DCA) was closed following a heavy snowstorm, which produced of snow. This system uses heat from the engines to prevent sensors and the engine intake cowl from accumulating ice or snow, ensuring accurate readings.

thumb|[[National Transportation Safety Board|NTSB's diagram of flight path for Air Florida Flight 90.]]

Adding to the plane's troubles was the pilots' decision to maneuver closely behind a DC-9 that was taxiing just ahead of them prior to takeoff, due to their mistaken belief that the warmth from the DC-9's engines would melt the snow and ice that had accumulated on Flight 90's wings. This action, which went specifically against flight-manual recommendations for an icing situation, actually contributed to icing on the 737. The exhaust gases from the other aircraft melted the snow on the wings, but instead of falling off the plane during takeoff, this slush mixture froze on the wings' leading edges and the engine inlet nose cone.

Although the 737 did manage to become airborne, it attained a maximum altitude of just before it began losing altitude. Recorders later indicated that the aircraft was airborne for just 30 seconds. At 4:01 pm EST, it crashed into the 14th Street Bridge across the Potomac River, from the end of the runway. The plane hit six cars and a truck on the bridge, and tore away of the bridge's rail and of the bridge's wall. The Coast Guard's harbor tugboat Capstan (WYTL 65601) and its crew were based nearby; their duties include icebreaking and responding to water rescues. The Capstan was considerably farther downriver on another search-and-rescue mission. Emergency ground response was hampered by ice-covered roads and gridlocked traffic; ambulances dispatched at 4:07 pm took 20 minutes to reach the crash scene. Ambulances attempting to reach the crash site were even driven down the sidewalk in front of the White House. Rescuers who reached the site were unable to assist survivors in the water because they did not have adequate equipment to reach them. Water temperature, about , and heavy ice made swimming out to the victims impossible. Multiple attempts to throw a makeshift lifeline (made of belts and other items which could be tied together) out to the survivors proved ineffective. The rescue attempts by emergency officials and witnesses were recorded and broadcast live by area news reporters, and because the accident occurred in the nation's capital, large numbers of media personnel were on hand to provide quick and extensive coverage.

Roger Olian, a sheet-metal foreman at St. Elizabeths Hospital, a Washington psychiatric hospital, was on his way home across the 14th Street Bridge when he heard a man yelling that an aircraft was in the water. He was the first to jump into the water to attempt to reach the survivors. At the same time, several military personnel from the Pentagon—Steve Raynes, Aldo De La Cruz, and Steve Bell—ran to the water's edge to help Olian.

At this point, air traffic controllers and flight controllers were aware only that the plane had disappeared from radar and was not responding to radio calls, and had no idea what had happened or where the plane was located.

Around 4:20 pm The helicopter then proceeded to where Felch had fallen, and paramedic Gene Windsor stepped onto the helicopter skid and grabbed Felch's clothing to lift her onto the skid and bring her to shore. Ten minutes passed from the time the helicopter arrived on scene until Felch's rescue.

When the helicopter crew returned for Williams, the wreckage he was strapped into had rolled slightly, submerging him; according to the coroner, Williams was the only passenger to die by drowning. His body and those of the other occupants were recovered later.

The inclement weather had caused an early start to Washington's rush-hour traffic, frustrating the response time of emergency crews. The early rush hour also meant that trains on the Washington Metro were full when, just 30 minutes after Flight 90 crashed, the Metro suffered its first fatal crash at Federal Triangle station. This meant that Washington's nearest airport, one of its main bridges in or out of the city, and one of its busiest subway lines were all closed simultaneously, paralyzing much of the metropolitan area.

Media responses

The first member of the news media to arrive was Chester Panzer of WRC-TV. was coincidentally at National Airport prior to the incident reporting on the snowstorm, and even caught footage of Flight 90 prior to takeoff. He was first on the air with the story.

Among the plethora of news coverage of the incident, The Washington Post published a story about the then-unidentified survivor of the crash, Arland D. Williams Jr., who had handed the lifeline to others and drowned before he could be rescued:

The day after the crash, WWDC "shock jock" Howard Stern pretended to call the Air Florida ticket counter to ask about buying tickets to the 14th Street Bridge.

NTSB investigation and conclusion

The 737 had broken into several large pieces upon impact—the nose and cockpit section, the cabin up to the wing attachment point, the cabin from behind the wings to the rear airstairs, and the empennage. Although actual impact speeds were low and well within survivability limits, the structural breakup of the fuselage and exposure to freezing water nonetheless proved fatal for all persons aboard the plane except those seated in the tail section. The NTSB concluded that the accident was not survivable.

Civilians Roger Olian and Lenny Skutnik received the Coast Guard's Gold Lifesaving Medal. Arland D. Williams, Jr. also received the award posthumously. Skutnik was introduced to the joint session of the U.S. Congress during President Ronald Reagan's State of the Union speech later that month.

The Coast Guard awarded a Silver Lifesaving Medal to two crewmen of the U.S. Park Police helicopter Eagle 1. As the U.S. Park Police are part of the United States Department of the Interior, pilot Donald W. Usher and paramedic Melvin E. Windsor also received the Interior Department's Valor Award, presented in a special ceremony soon after the accident by Secretary of the Interior James G. Watt. Usher later became superintendent of the National Park Service Law Enforcement Training Center located at FLETC in Brunswick, Georgia, before retiring in December 2012.

Roger Olian, Lenny Skutnik, Donald Usher, and Melvin Windsor each received the Carnegie Hero Fund Medal. Kelly Duncan, the only surviving flight attendant, was recognized in the NTSB accident report for her "unselfish act" of giving the only life vest she could find to a passenger.

In popular culture

The Discovery Channel Canada/National Geographic TV series Mayday (also called Air Crash Investigation or Air Emergency) dramatized the accident in an episode titled "Disaster on the Potomac" (aired in some countries as "Tragedy on the Potomac").

The PBS series Nova featured the crash in season 2, episode 2, of the TV show Why Planes Crash, in an episode called "Brush with Death".

Air Florida Flight 90 is described in Season 2, Episode 1 of the HBO series, The Rehearsal.

Notes

References

External links

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Executive Summary – NTSB Report AAR-82/08 Air Florida, Inc., Boeing 737-222, N62AF, Collision with 14th Street Bridge near Washington National Airport Washington, D.C. January 13, 1982
Aircraft Accident Report: Air Florida, Inc., Boeing 737-222, N62AF, Collision with 14th Street Bridge, Near Washington National Airport, Washington, D.C., January 13, 1982 – National Transportation Safety Board report (PDF, 140 pages)
Alternative link
Pre-crash photos of N62AF