Watching the grim images of watercraft recovery efforts working to salvage the wreckage from the Potomac River, where more than 67 people died following the deadly crash of an American Airlines commercial craft and a military helicopter, it’s hard not to recall a similar scene on another bitterly cold January day, 43 years ago.
On Jan. 13, 1982, Air Florida Flight 90, a Boeing 737 with 74 passengers and a crew of five onboard, took off from what was then called Washington National Airport and clipped the 14th Street Bridge, crammed with rush-hour traffic. Seven vehicles were crushed, killing three commuters and seriously injuring several others.
Reagan National Airport’s main runway is the busiest runway in the U.S., used by 800 planes every day. This means that there is a takeoff or landing roughly every 60 seconds throughout most of the day.
The plane broke into pieces and plunged through the ice into the river. Five survivors, desperately clinging to wreckage in the middle of the Potomac, were plucked from the water in a daring rescue by a U.S. Park Police helicopter. Lenny Skutnik, a 28-year-old clerk at the Congressional Budget Office, dove into the water to help rescue one of the survivors and instantly became a celebrity hero.
Since 1982, there has not been a major commercial aviation incident at what’s now Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Until now.
Obviously, there are significant differences between the Flight 90 crash and the midair collision that occurred last Wednesday night. But, beyond the profound grief of family members and friends of the passengers and crew, there are some commonalities.
After a catastrophic event, it’s natural to want answers. How could this possibly happen? Who is to blame? Although it is still early in the recovery and information-gathering stage of the investigation, there has been no shortage of opinions about possible causes of the incident.
Some are questioning, once again, the safety of Reagan National Airport. Located on 733 acres of reclaimed land at a bend in the Potomac River, Reagan National Airport is one of the smallest international airports in the U.S., and one of the busiest. In 2023, more than 25.5 million passengers traveled through an airport designed for 15 million annual passengers.
Reagan National Airport’s main runway is the busiest runway in the U.S., used by 800 planes every day. This means that there is a takeoff or landing roughly every 60 seconds throughout most of the day. Adding to the traffic are helicopters operated by various entities: U.S. Park Police, Maryland State Police, D.C. Metropolitan police, the military and Marine One, among others.
Between the volume of air traffic and the variety of aircraft, the airspace in the Washington area is among the most complicated and restricted in the country. Just two miles north of National is a prohibited zone, known as a P-56 restricted airspace, that extends over the National Mall from the Lincoln Memorial to the U.S. Capitol and includes the White House.
To avoid restricted airspace and to minimize noise in neighboring residential communities, planes departing National Airport are required to take a tortuous, zig-zagging route up the Potomac River, making five turns at precise points over the water.
In the aftermath of Wednesday’s crash, people are asking why the overcrowded National Airport continues to exist at all, given the existence of two larger, more modern facilities — Dulles International Airport and Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport — within reasonable proximity.
The answer is convenience. National is valued by members of Congress, government officials and those doing business in Washington. The airport is just across the Potomac, four miles by road to the White House and five miles to Capitol Hill, with direct Metrorail subway access. The other airports are an hour away. So National remains. Despite the obvious risks, aviation incidents at Reagan National Airport are exceedingly rare. Despite the obvious risks, aviation incidents at Reagan National Airport are exceedingly rare. It’s been 43 years since Flight 90, which was 33 years after the previous fatal commercial aviation incident. In a strikingly similar set of circumstances, on Nov. 1, 1949, a Bolivian pilot training with a fighter plane collided with an Eastern Airlines DC-4 aircraft. Both planes plunged into the Potomac River near Hain’s Point, not far from the site of the Flight 90 crash and Wednesday’s midair collision. The Bolivian pilot survived with severe injuries, but 55 aboard the DC-4 were killed. Flight 90 was one of the most pivotal aviation incidents in recent history. It led to changes in de-icing practices at airports, changes in pre-flight safety instructions for passengers, and a redesign of outdated personal flotation vests that had been unchanged since World War II. The things that went wrong on Jan. 13, 1982 were corrected so they wouldn’t happen again. Every person who flies a commercial airliner today is safer because of the Flight 90 tragedy. Last Wednesday’s midair collision was particularly shocking because of its rarity. It’s been 16 years since the last major commercial aviation accident, a remarkable track record that speaks to the extraordinary work of air traffic controllers, pilots and other aviation professionals. Something clearly went wrong on the night of Jan. 29. The answers will emerge in time, when the National Transportation Safety Board has collected all of the facts. When the causes are more clearly understood, one would hope that steps can be taken to make sure such an accident never happens again.
Bruce Goldfarb
Bruce Goldfarb is a writer with a background in science and medicine, particularly forensic science. He has contributed to USA Today, the Washington Post and numerous other publications. He is the author of "18 Tiny Deaths: The Untold Story of the Woman Who Invented Modern Forensics" and "OCME: Life in America's Top Forensic Medical Center." His forthcoming book about Air Florida Flight 90 and the events of Jan.13, 1982, "The Worst Day: A Plane Crash, Train Wreck, and Remarkable Acts of Heroism in Washington, D.C.," will be released by Steerforth Press later this year. 
