Air Florida Flight 90 crashed into the 14th Street Bridge over the Potomac River. 78 passengers, cabin crew members and motorists died. Just five people survived, and only three are still alive to witness news of the American Airlines plane that collided with a U.

The deadly crash in the Potomac after an American Eagle jet collided with a military helicopter has stirred memories of a long-ago tragedy in Washington, D.C. An Air Florida flight taking off en route to Fort Lauderdale crashed into a bridge and tumbled into the icy Potomac in January 1982.

Donald Usher, a former helicopter pilot who helped rescue survivors from the 1982 Air Florida Flight 90 crash in the Potomac River, reflects on the emotional toll of that rescue as news of a similar tragedy unfolds in the same location.

The devastating Air Florida Flight 90 crash on Jan. 13, 1982 and subsequent rescue efforts in the ice-covered Potomac River transfixed Washington and the nation

Collision between American airlines jet and Black Hawk on Potomac revives haunting memories of the 1982 tragedy.

The aircraft experienced difficulty climbing and stalled, striking the 14th Street Bridge and crashing into the ice-covered Potomac.

Multiple 911 callers reported the crash near the river just before 8:55 p.m., according to the Metropolitan Police Department and the District of Columbia Fire and EMS.

Several federal and state investigations have been launched after an American Airlines flight and a military helicopter collided near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and fell into the Potomac River,

We are now at the point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation,” said John Donnelly, the fire chief in the nation’s capital.

The aviation disaster near Washington DC has brought up memories of another crash into the Potomac River 43 years ago – the Air Florida Flight 90. The search at the crash site of the American Airlines plane and US military Black Hawk helicopter has turned into a recovery operation after officials said they don’t ‘believe there are any survivors.

One of the pilots of the passenger jet involved in a mid-air collision in Washington, D.C. was a native of New York but grew up in Florida, where he learned to fly planes, according to records and statements from those who knew him.