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Four heroes of the 1982 rescue on the Potomac River
Last edited Fri Jan 31, 2025, 01:35 AM - Edit history (1)
Lawrence O'Donnell featured the story of "Lenny" Skutnik on his show tonight. I was touched and wanted to know more about Skutnik, a 28-year-old Federal employee who on January 13, 1982, plunged into the frigid Potomac to rescue a woman who'd lost her grip on a life ring. Skutnik was one of four men who risked their lives to rescue survivors of the crash that day.
From the Archives: 40th Anniversary of the Rescue on the Potomac
Carnegie Hero Fund Commission (January 2022)
On January 13, 1982, cold temperatures and snow plagued the Washington, D.C., area so much so that, by the afternoon, businesses and schools had closed for the day. The great exodus from the city resulted in a major traffic jam.
Roger Olian, a 34-year-old sheet-metal worker for St. Elizabeth Hospital, and M.L. Skutnik III, 28, an office services assistant for the Congressional Budget Office, were among those trying to return to their suburban neighborhoods – Olian to Arlington, Virginia, and Skutnik to Lorton, Virginia.
By 4 p.m., Olian was stopped on the 14th Street Bridge as his car’s gas tank depleted and the battery waned. Snow continued to fall and the air temperature was about 25 degrees. Skutnik sat in another vehicle on the bridge, accompanied by four members of his carpool.
Meanwhile, Donald W. Usher, 31, chief pilot from Gambrills, Maryland, and Melvin E. Windsor, 41, rescue technician from Monrovia, Maryland, were stationed at the hangar of the Aviation Section of the U.S. Park Police, waiting for the winter storm to pass. Earlier in the day, as chief pilot, Usher decided that no routine flying would be permitted because of the inclement weather.
At Washington National Airport, now Ronald Reagan Airport, flight delays abounded. Air Florida Flight 90, which was headed for Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was scheduled for takeoff at 2:15 p.m., but weather delays and the process of de-icing the plane delayed departure until 4 p.m. Seventy-nine people were aboard the Boeing 737 jetliner.
Trouble prior to lift off did not end once the plane was airborne. Almost immediately, the 102,000-pound plane lost altitude. Less than a mile from the end of the runway, the jetliner crashed into the traffic- clogged 14th Street bridge, where it struck seven occupied vehicles. Four people were killed and four others were injured.
The plane descended past the damaged bridge wall and railing, breaking through the ice-covered Potomac River. The wreckage sunk in 25-feet of water. About 73 people aboard lost their lives.
In the next 20 to 30 minutes, the six survivors of the crash would be shown selflessness and bravery by four men who came to their aid in multiple ways from the ground and air. Kelly L. Duncan, stewardess, and passengers, Priscilla K. Tirado, Bert D. Hamilton, Joseph Stiley, Patricia Felch, and another man, surfaced amid remnants of the plane’s tail. They were surrounded by debris and sheets of ice about 120 feet from the Virginia bank of the Potomac River. The brutal cold crept into their bodies as they cried for help.
[SNIP]
https://www.carnegiehero.org/from-the-archives-40th-anniversary-of-the-rescue-on-the-potomac/
Carnegie Hero Fund Commission (January 2022)
On January 13, 1982, cold temperatures and snow plagued the Washington, D.C., area so much so that, by the afternoon, businesses and schools had closed for the day. The great exodus from the city resulted in a major traffic jam.
Roger Olian, a 34-year-old sheet-metal worker for St. Elizabeth Hospital, and M.L. Skutnik III, 28, an office services assistant for the Congressional Budget Office, were among those trying to return to their suburban neighborhoods – Olian to Arlington, Virginia, and Skutnik to Lorton, Virginia.
By 4 p.m., Olian was stopped on the 14th Street Bridge as his car’s gas tank depleted and the battery waned. Snow continued to fall and the air temperature was about 25 degrees. Skutnik sat in another vehicle on the bridge, accompanied by four members of his carpool.
Meanwhile, Donald W. Usher, 31, chief pilot from Gambrills, Maryland, and Melvin E. Windsor, 41, rescue technician from Monrovia, Maryland, were stationed at the hangar of the Aviation Section of the U.S. Park Police, waiting for the winter storm to pass. Earlier in the day, as chief pilot, Usher decided that no routine flying would be permitted because of the inclement weather.
At Washington National Airport, now Ronald Reagan Airport, flight delays abounded. Air Florida Flight 90, which was headed for Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was scheduled for takeoff at 2:15 p.m., but weather delays and the process of de-icing the plane delayed departure until 4 p.m. Seventy-nine people were aboard the Boeing 737 jetliner.
Trouble prior to lift off did not end once the plane was airborne. Almost immediately, the 102,000-pound plane lost altitude. Less than a mile from the end of the runway, the jetliner crashed into the traffic- clogged 14th Street bridge, where it struck seven occupied vehicles. Four people were killed and four others were injured.
The plane descended past the damaged bridge wall and railing, breaking through the ice-covered Potomac River. The wreckage sunk in 25-feet of water. About 73 people aboard lost their lives.
In the next 20 to 30 minutes, the six survivors of the crash would be shown selflessness and bravery by four men who came to their aid in multiple ways from the ground and air. Kelly L. Duncan, stewardess, and passengers, Priscilla K. Tirado, Bert D. Hamilton, Joseph Stiley, Patricia Felch, and another man, surfaced amid remnants of the plane’s tail. They were surrounded by debris and sheets of ice about 120 feet from the Virginia bank of the Potomac River. The brutal cold crept into their bodies as they cried for help.
[SNIP]
https://www.carnegiehero.org/from-the-archives-40th-anniversary-of-the-rescue-on-the-potomac/
*Follow the link for photos and the rest of the story*
BTW, as a child during the 1960s I spent many hours with my father watching the planes taking off and landing at National Airport. I was born in the District and lived just outside of the Beltway in Prince George's County, MD, until later moving to nearby Loudon County, VA. The airport, the National Zoo, and the Smithsonian museums were among my father's favorite places to visit around our beautiful Nation's Capitol. I was disappointed when the airport was renamed for Ronnie Raygun. It will always be National Airport to me!
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Amazing rescues by these men. The story is so well told, I can nearly feel the cold and smell the jet fuel.
