Flight To The Florida Key
Flight To The Florida Key
Air Florida Flight 90 , an Air Florida flight of a Boeing 737-222 airliner, crashed into the 14th Street Bridge across the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. on January 13, 1982 immediately after takeoff in a severe snowstorm from Washington National Airport in Arlington County, Virginia.
The aircraft carried 74 passengers and five crew members when it crashed during the failed takeoff attempt. All but five occupants died. The aircraft struck the 14th Street Bridge, which carries Interstate Highway 395 between Washington, D.C., and Arlington County, Virginia. It crushed seven occupied vehicles on the bridge and destroyed 97 feet (30 m) of guard rail before it plunged through the ice into the Potomac River. The crash occurred less than two miles (3 km) from the White House and within view of both the Jefferson Memorial and The Pentagon.
The accident killed 78 people, including four motorists on the 14th Street Bridge. A few survivors were rescued from the icy river by civilians and professionals; President Ronald Reagan commended these acts during his State of the Union speech a few days later. The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the cause of the accident was pilot error. The pilots failed to switch on the engines' internal ice protection systems, used reverse thrust in a snow storm prior to takeoff, and failed to abort the takeoff even after detecting a power problem while taxiing and visually identifying ice and snow buildup on the wings.
Weather conditions
On January 13, Washington National Airport (located in Arlington County, Virginia, immediately across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C.) was closed by a heavy snowstorm, then reopened at noon under marginal conditions as the snowfall began to slacken. That same day, the crew of Air Florida Flight 90 had left Miami International Airport (MIA) in Miami, Florida at 11:00 a.m. EST and arrived at National Airport about 1:45 p.m. EST.
That afternoon, the plane was to return south to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) in Dania, Florida with an intermediate stop at Tampa International Airport (TPA), Tampa, Florida. The scheduled departure time was delayed about 1 hour 45 minutes due to the temporary closing of the airport. As the plane was readied for departure, a moderate snowfall continued and the air temperature was 24 °F (−4 °C).
Improper deicing procedures
The aircraft was de-iced with a mixture of heated water and monopropylene glycol by American Airlines, under a ground service agreement with Air Florida. That agreement specified covers for the pitots/static ports and engine inlets had to be used, but the American Airlines employees did not comply with those rules. Two different operators, who chose widely different mixture percentages, deiced the left and right sides of the plane, respectively. Subsequent testing of the deicing truck showed that "the mixture dispensed differed substantially from the mixture selected" (18% actual vs. 30% selected). The inaccurate mixture was the result of the replacement of the standard Trump nozzle, "…which is specially modified and calibrated, with a nonmodified, commercially available nozzle." The operator had no means to determine if the proportioning valves were operating properly because no "mix monitor" was installed on the nozzle.
Delays, poor decisions, crash
The plane had trouble leaving the gate when the ground services tow motor could not get traction on the ice. For approximately 30 to 90 seconds, the crew attempted to back away from the gate using the reverse thrust of the engines, which proved futile. Boeing operations bulletins had warned against using reverse thrust in those kinds of conditions.
Eventually, a tug ground unit properly equipped with snow chains was used to push the aircraft back from the gate. After leaving the gate, the aircraft waited in a taxi line with many other aircraft for 49 minutes before reaching the takeoff runway. The pilot apparently decided not to return to the gate for reapplication of de-icing, fearing that the flight's departure would be even further delayed. More snow and ice accumulated on the wings during that period, and the crew was aware of that fact when they decided to make the takeoff. Heavy snow was falling during their takeoff roll at 3:59 p.m. EST.
Even though it was freezing and was snowing, the crew did not activate the engine anti-ice system. Analysis of the cockpit voice recorder determined that, during the departure checklist, the copilot announced and the pilot confirmed that the plane's own engine anti-icing system was turned off. This system uses heat from the engines to prevent sensors from freezing, ensuring accurate readings.
During the plane's taxiing, the cockpit voice recorder picked up the following conversation between the captain and first officer, in which they discussed the icing situation.
Adding to the plane's troubles was the pilots' decision to maneuver closely behind a DC-9 that was taxiing just ahead of the Air Florida aircraft prior to takeoff, due to their mistaken belief that the warmth from the DC-9's engines would melt the snow and ice that had accumulated on Flight 90's wings. This action — which went specifically against flight manual recommendations for an icing situation — actually contributed to additional icing on the 737. By sitting behind the preceding aircraft, the exhaust gases melted the snow on the wings. During take off, instead of falling off the plane, this slush mixture then froze on the wings' leading edges and the engine inlet nose cone.
Neither the captain nor the first officer had much experience flying in snowy, cold weather. Additionally, the captain, Larry Wheaton, had failed a flight simulator test the previous year with one of his instructors citing Wheaton's unfamiliarity with flight rules and regulations. He took a repeat test soon after and passed.
As it turned out, the failure to operate the plane's engine anti-icing system caused exactly what could be expected to happen: the engine pressure ratio (EPR) thrust indicators provided false high readings — when the pilots thought they had throttled up to the correct take-off EPR of 2.04, the actual EPR was only 1.70. The aircraft traveled almost ½ mile (800 m) further down the runway than is customary before liftoff was accomplished. Survivors of the crash indicated the trip over the runway was extremely rough, with one survivor saying that he feared that they would not get airborne and would "fall off the end of the runway".
As the plane began its takeoff roll the first officer noted several times to the captain that the readings he was seeing on the instrument panel did not seem to reflect reality (he was referring to the fact that the plane did not seem to have developed as much power as it needed for takeoff, despite the instruments indicating otherwise.) The captain dismissed the first officer's concerns and let the takeoff proceed. Investigators later determined that there was plenty of time and space on the runway for the captain to have aborted the takeoff, and criticized his refusal to listen to his first officer, who was correct that the instrument panel readings were wrong. The pilot was told not to delay because another aircraft was on final approach 2.5 miles (4 km) out using the same runway.
The following is a transcript of Flight 90's cockpit voice recorder during the plane's acceleration down the runway. It is evident that the first officer saw a problem with the instrumentation and that the captain shrugged off his concerns. (CAM-1 is the captain, CAM-2 is the first officer)
As the plane became briefly airborne, the flight recorder picked up the following from the cockpit, with the sound of the stick-shaker (an instrument that warns that the plane is in danger of stalling) in the background:
Although the aircraft did manage to become airborne, it attained a maximum altitude of just 352 feet (107 m) before it began losing altitude. Recorders later indicated that the aircraft was airborne for just 30 seconds. At 4:01 p.m. EST it crashed into the 14th Street Bridge across the Potomac River, 0.75 nautical miles (1,390 m) from the end of the runway. The plane hit six cars and a truck on the bridge, and tore away 97 feet (30 m) of the bridge's rail and 41 feet (12 m) of the bridge's wall. The wrecked aircraft then plunged into the freezing Potomac River. It fell between two of the three spans of the 14th Street Bridge, between the I-395 northbound span (the Rochambeau Memorial Bridge) and the HOV north and southbound spans, about 200 feet (61 m) offshore. All but the tail section quickly became submerged.
Of the people on board the aircraft:
- Four of the five crew members, including both pilots, died
- One crew member was seriously injured
- 70 of the 74 passengers died.
Of the motorists on the bridge involved:
- 4 received fatal injuries
- 1 received serious injuries
- 3 received minor injuries
Clinging to the tail section of the broken airliner with five passengers in the ice-choked Potomac River, flight attendant Kelly Duncan inflated the only flotation device they could find and passed it to one of the more severely injured passengers, Nikki Felch. Joe Stiley assisted fello
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