President Trump said the crash was a "tragedy of terrible proportions" and told family members "Our hearts are shattered alongside yours."
The recent crash and rescue on the icy river between DC and Virginia sparks memories of Air Florida's 1982 disaster.
Daniel Izzo, a retired Navy SEAL master chief, has conducted water rescues after plane crashes and says winter conditions in the Potomac River make the situation even more dangerous. "It always seems like something like this happens at the worst possible time," Izzo said. "It happened at night. It happened in January."
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.
A Boeing 737 crashed into a bridge over the river on Jan. 13, 1982, just after taking off from Washington National Airport in a snowstorm.
Among those killed were two with Florida connections: the pilot of the plane, Jonathan Campos, and the son of a Venice couple.
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport has been closed until at least 11 a.m. Thursday. Several flights out of Florida have already been canceled.
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,
Feller, who served as an instructor pilot for the D.C. National Guard, said he had several rules for new pilots to avoid such collisions. He warned them to stay below the mandated 200-foot ceiling for helicopters. And he urged them to be on guard for planes landing on 3-3 because they could be difficult to spot.
Sam Lilley knew he wanted to fly and began training to be a pilot, like his father, right out of college.“You don’t<a class="excerpt-read-more" href=" More
American Airlines Flight 5342 and a U.S. Army Black Hawk collided in Washington, D.C. Authorities believe all 67 on board both aircraft died.