On January 13 , 1982 Air Florida Flight 90 , a Boeing 737 , clipped the 14th Street Bridge before crashing into the Potomac River shortly after takeoff from National Airport . Of the 74 passengers and 5 crew members on board , only 4 passengers and 1 flight attendant survived the crash . In addition , due to heavy traffic on the bridge at the time from a snow storm impacting the region , four motorists in vehicles on the bridge were killed . The snow storm , and traffic congestion were noted to delay response and impede access of response resources throughout the region . Due to the deficiencies noted in the response in icy waters , the department improved their River Rescue capabilities with airboats capable of operating on surface ice of the river
Air Florida Flight 90
Air Florida Flight 90
Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Fire and Rescue Department