The 30th anniversary of the Air Florida plane crash

All but four passengers and one flight attendant of the 79 people aboard died in the crash into the 14th Street bridge over the Potomac River. Here are historic and current photos from the incident. Four people on the bridge also were killed.

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A jetliner flies high over a tranquil scene at the 14th Street bridge, where 30 years ago winter weather and human error conspired to bring down Air Florida Flight 90 in a disaster that claimed 78 lives. This image is a composite exposure created by taking several photos and combining them with computer software to transcend the visual limitations of standard photography.

Bill O'Leary / The Washington Post

Jan. 10, 2012

A passenger jet flies over the 14th Street bridge as the 30th anniversary of the Air Florida crash approaches.

Bill O'Leary / The Washington Post

Jan. 13, 1982

The scene on the 14th Street bridge after the Air Florida flight that crashed into the busy motorway. Several vehicles on the bridge were hit by the plane.

/ The Washington Post

Jan. 13, 1982

A U.S. Park Police helicopter hovers over the wreckage of an Air Florida jetliner after it crashed into the 14th Street bridge and fell into the Potomac River in Washington. A passenger can be seen hanging onto the plane wreck.

Charles Pereira / AP

Jan. 13, 1982

A U.S. Park Police helicopter crew hovers over the wreckage of the Air Florida jetliner in the Potomac River.

/ AP

Jan. 13, 1982

Rescuers search the wreckage of the jetliner for victims.

/ AP

Jan. 13, 1982

Passengers from an Air Florida plane cling to rescue lines lowered by a Park Police helicopter after the jet crashed into the 14th Street bridge over the Potomac River.

Charles Pereira / U.S. Park Police

Jan. 16, 1982

Members of the salvage team aid in the recovery effort of the Air Florida jetliner that crashed in the Potomac River. The operation was hampered by snowstorms, ice and low temperatures. At lower left is a piece of the 737 jetliner.

Ira Schwarz / AP

Jan. 13, 1982

In this photo taken from an ABC Television monitor, Priscilla Tirado holds onto a safety ring during a rescue attempt after the crash of Air Florida Flight 90.

/ Chester Panzer

Jan. 13, 1982

A sequence of images captured on television show the rescue that made Lenny Skutnik a hero. He plunged into the icy waters of the Potomac River and reached stewardess Kelly Duncan after the Air Florida jetliner crashed. At top, he reaches her as the exhausted Kelly gives up her fight for survival. At bottom, he brings her head to the surface.

Chester Panzer / WJLA via UPI

Jan. 13, 1982

A truck hangs over the 14th Street bridge after being hit by the Air Florida jetliner that went into the Potomac River.

/ AP

Jan. 13, 1982

A rescue boat searches for victims of the Air Florida jetliner that crashed in the Potomac.

/ AP

Jan. 13, 1982

Crowds gather along the frozen banks near the scene where Air Florida Flight 90 crashed into the Potomac River.

Douglas Chevalier / The Washington Post

Jan. 13, 1982

After Air Florida Flight 90 crashed into the Potomac River, a survivor is pulled aboard a Park Police helicopter.

UPI

Jan. 15, 1982

Crew members on a landing barge, with the bow lowered, fish a woman's boot from the Potomac River after the crash of Air Florida's Flight 90.

Doug Chevalier / The Washington Post

Jan. 15, 1982

A member of the search team carries a recovered briefcase through the snow from the Potomac River at the site of the Air Florida jetliner crash.

Ira Schwarz / AP

Jan. 13, 1982

Rescue crews search the ice-choked Potomac River under the northbound span of the 14th Street bridge after Air Florida Flight 90 crashed.

Ray Lustig / The Washington Post

Jan. 13, 1982

M.E. Gene Windsor, the paramedic who helped save the five survivors of the Air Florida Flight 90 plane crash, is interviewed in Washington.

Vanessa Barnes Hillian / The Washington Post

January 1982

Air Florida crash victim Joseph Stiley tells reporters of his rescue from the Potomac River.

Frank Johnston / The Washington Post

Jan. 14, 1982

Bert Hamilton, one of five people to survive the Air Florida Flight 90 plane crash, gives an interview from his hospital bed in Washington.

UPI

Jan. 14, 1982

A large crane, shown in background, is moved near the 14th Street bridge. It was used in the recovery efforts after the Air Florida crash.

/ AP

Jan. 21, 1982

Workers prepare the center fuselage of the Air Florida Flight 90 jetliner to be removed from a barge on the Potomac River.

Larry Morris / The Washington Post

A piece of the Air Florida jet that crashed into the 14th Street bridge is lifted from the Potomac River.

Paul Powers

2009

Kelly Duncan and her husband, John Moore, with their children, from left, Michael Moore, Kinsey Moore and Gregory Moore, are shown at a a family gathering. Duncan, a flight attendant, was the only crew member who survived the Air Florida Flight 90 crash.

Keri McDaniel / Keri McDaniel Photography

Joe Stiley with his daughters Teri, left, and Mallory during a family trip to Vietnam. Joe Stiley was one of four surviving passengers on Air Florida Flight 90.

Family photo

Lenny Skutnik, shown at home in Lorton, is the federal employee who jumped into the icy Potomac River to save a woman after the Air Florida Flight 90 crash.

John McDonnell / The Washington Post

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