Flight 90: Disaster on the Potomac

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 ...

I was interested, since I was on that flight.

I didn't see ANY resemblance between me and the actor who portrayed me.

I was aware of the differences, in fact, between what was presented, and the actual events of the day.

What I learned = how my memory has observed actual experiences, how it has observed " distorted facts", what I learned from media, how pain medicine acts on a victim, how the media exploits victims, with little or no regard for their immediate needs, in the aftermath of a disaster, ... I had MULTIPLE reporters who lied to the hospital switchboard operator, claiming to be my Mother, in order to talk to me, how they crowded into my small hospital room in order to stick microphones in my face, as soon as I regained consciousness, how they published a picture claiming that a woman who was standing beside my bed was my wife (which she was not), ... I have learned to despise those low life animals!!!!

I don't think the movie caught any of those events.

So, to me, I thought the movie was exploitative, and don't recommend it to my friends. There is plenty of live video available. Also, I have been interviewed often, in that era, and say what I had to say, for anyone interested.

Joe Stiley (still kicking, at 83, living where it never freezes, in Southern Mexico).

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 movie is one of the best of its genre as far as I am concerned. Though made for TV, a fair amount of research and money has gone into its production, evident from how close to the actual facts the movie is. Being a well documented true story, it's good to see the movie adhering to this. The writing and characterisation is very realistic - nothing two dimensional or superfluous here. It also follows the characters through a little of their day before and why they're travelling on this particular flight. You become emotionally attached and care about them, wondering who is going to live and who is going to die.

Brilliant performances from the cast only raise the picture further. Barry Corbin and Dinah Manoff both went on to successful sitcoms (Northern Exposure and Empty Nest respectively), and it's not surprising from their acting in this film. The on screen chemistry between Jamie Rose and Kate Vernon (as flight attendants) has to be seen to be believed. It's enough to make you think they were actually friends in real life, not just actors brought together for a movie. They truly become who they're portraying.

What really adds to the film is the detail. The same airline that actually crashed is featured in the movie, the same aircraft type, and the details as to why the plane crashed are added in a way that you'll notice without it being in your face or detrimental to the story flow. Impressively, the actual cockpit dialog from the flight is repeated almost verbatim in the movie. Finally, actual news footage of the rescue that day is incorporated into the acted out footage, adding a deal of realism rarely seen in "crash movies".

The only bad marks I can give the film is for the total unrealistic "crash" scene. Obviously there was no special effects budget. Also, the "cars on the bridge" are obviously not real and shot in a studio, another downfall for a movie that is otherwise virtually flawless.

Flight 90: Disaster On The Potomac - definitely worth watching, and not one to miss - for plane buffs and movie buffs alike!

This TV-movie about the January 13, 1982 crash of Air Florida Flight #90 into the Potomac river is for the most part a well-made docudrama surrounding many of the people involved in the story. Legal hurdles prevented some stories from being depicted, in particular that of Lenny Skutnik who dove into the river to rescue Priscilla Tirado from drowning. Skutnik felt that any movie about the event was exploitative and thus refused to let his story be dramatized. His scene is confined to a look-alike actor (billed only as "Man On Shore" in the original credits) jumping in at the appropriate moment. However, compensation is offered by focusing on the more neglected story of mental hospital worker Roger Olian (Richard Masur) who first swam out to give the trapped passengers enocouragement before the helicopters arrived. His story is as remarkable as Skutnik's ultimately and the TV movie allowed those of us who weren't familiar with his efforts to see how there was more than one hero that day who jumped into the Potomac to provide help.

The docudrama approach with no special effects of the plane crash managed to work well because there is a desire to keep things as authentic as possible, which includes a large use of actual news footage of the rescue operations, which is blended in seamlessly with the scenes of actors in the tank. Gil Melle's score is a bit awkward and the most dated aspect of the production, but still has some hauntingly beautiful sections when he gets away from the synths.

A few postscripts to the story of the survivors. Nikki Felch's marriage to David Frank did not last and she sadly died of pancreatic cancer in 2002, just two weeks after Burt Hamilton also passed away. Joe Stiley was forced into early retirement by his injuries and lives in Washington state. Priscilla Tirado has not granted an interview in more than ten years and remains traumatized by the events that saw her lose her husband and baby. By far, the happiest story has been that of Flight Attendant Kelly Duncan (who is given the least attention of any of the survivors in the movie, with greater focus coming on the other two flight attendants who were killed) who today teaches at a Christian pre-school and has three children.