Flight 90: Disaster on the Potomac

I'm a big fan of disaster movies. The more preposterous and over-the-top, the better! You know, "Airport"-style, or "The Towering Inferno". Of course, it's a lot less fun when it's a half movie/half documentary-drama about a tragedy that really occurred; - especially when made only two years after the incident and still fresh in the mind of everybody. "Flight 90" isn't the type of film you watch for entertainment, but to learn something more about what happened, or out of respect for the casualties and the families they left behind.

"Flight 90: Disaster on the Potomac" is a retelling of the drama that occurred on 13th of January 1982, when - during terrible wintery weather conditions - a Boeing airliner crashed into an interstate bridge and sunk in the ice-cold Potomac River in Washington D. C. 74 of the 78 passengers and crewmembers lost their lives, and another 4 unsuspecting motorists on the interstate did as well. Since it's a serene production, and made for television, the film doesn't show much of the actual crash but focuses on character drawings (mostly of the few survivors) and the complicated rescue mission. It's a worthwhile film and it succeeds in passing the message that every victim of every incident has a name worth remembering and background story worth telling.

I remember this day, 13 January 1982, vividly. I had been working the day shift for AT&T at 30 E St S.W. in Washington DC. We received warning that the weather was turning extremely bad, and the company made a safety decision to close and have people go home early in order to beat the dangerous weather predicted. I was a member of a car pool traveling from Washington DC to Woodbridge, VA where we lived. As we started to leave DC, the snow began coming down so fast that it was like traveling in fog. Visibility was very poor. As we approached the 14th Street bridge, we became aware of something serious happening. There was a lot of commotion and emergency vehicles everywhere. The traffic was stopped on the bridge, and at first we weren't aware of what happened. As the traffic was not moving, we all exited our vehicle to see what the problem was. We were about mid span on the bridge when it was closed. It was a horrific scene that greeted us. There was the Airliner in the water/ice with only the tail showing. Watching the movie brought this scene back to me. The water froze over almost as soon as the ice was broken. I remember seeing someone in what looked like a gray flight suit frozen in the river. This still haunts me to his day. This film was very true to the events of that incident, and had it not been for a few heroic individuals, especially the clerk who dove in the freezing water to rescue the stewardess, and an awfully good National Parks Service Helicopter Pilot, whose helicopter skids actually touched below the water, I don't think anyone would have survived. It was sad to see all the emergency responders on the shoreline in confusion as they were not able to communicate with one another. Their emergency frequencies were all different. This movie definitely deserves the Emmie's it was nominated for, and should be out on DVD.

This is a movie that should be put on video. It is very well done and very accurate. I haven't seen it since it originally aired on network television, but I still remember it very well. I remember the character played by Donnelly Rhodes kept passing his opportunity to escape to other survivors. It was heart-breaking to watch that play out. I remember Richard Masur's character trying to swim out to assist the survivors. I remember the woman who lost her husband and baby trying to find her will to survive. I was young when it aired and I remember people making a big deal about it the days leading up to it because it was so effective and accurate. I know I'd love to see it again.

A good reenactment of the facts of Jan.13th 1982, when AF90 sunk in the freezy Potomac river. How can an air crash change the vision of the survivors about life? We can see in this picture the workers, stewardesses, pilots and passengers amidst a strong snow storm, and the worry of some of them ,specially Joe Stiley(Stephen Macht) about the ice in the wings,and when he asks about it, nobody answers. The actitude of some survivors, as Arland Williams(Donnely Rhodes) is enough to make you understand the meaning of life in a critic situation. I think this is one of the most dramatic scenes of the movie. We see also the drama behind the rescue workers in the helicopter and the efforts to save these shocked people of a frozen river. And the special effects, in the moment when airplane starts to stall and everything falls from the roof of the plane, the safety position of Joe, Nikki Felch, Bert Hamilton and Kelly Duncan( a great play of Kathleen Wilhoite as the youngest stewardess)

This picture shows us an important lesson: You must be very crazy to aboard an airplane in a snow storm, unless you are sure you won't end your flight in an ice trap.

I was scheduled to be on this exact flight, returning to Florida from Washington after doing some military research at the Pentagon, however due to a family health problem canceled out two days before ...

Have thought of this moment many, many times over these last now 25+ years in wondering " what if " ...

This docudrama sets out the most important facts of that horrible day in very close detail ... It may possibly have been better, however it does tell the true story ...

The major miracle is that there were 5 survivors and even more most heroic men and women who took it upon themselves to throw themselves into this unbelievable rescue operation ... They are the real and true heroes of that day ...