On January 13, 1982, Air Florida Flight 90 departs from a snow-covered runway in Washington D.C., but shortly after takeoff, it stalls at an altitude of 300 feet. The aircraft collides with a road bridge before plunging into the Potomac River, resulting in the tragic loss of 78 lives. Investigations reveal that ice accumulation on the wings and the pilots’ neglect to activate the engines’ anti-freeze system contributed to misleading engine instrument readings, leading to the disaster.
Show
Mayday
Episode
S13E02
Air Date
Dec 23, 2013
Season 13 Episodes
S13E01
Fight to the Death (British European Airways Flight 548)
S13E02
Disaster on the Potomac (Air Florida Flight 90)
S13E03
Speed Trap (Hughes Airwest Flight 706)
S13E04
Queens Catastrophe (American Airlines Flight 587)
S13E05
Lost in Translation (Crossair Flight 498)
S13E06
Massacre Over the Mediterranean (Aerolinee Itavia Flight 870)
S13E07
Terror in Paradise (Air Moorea Flight 1121)
S13E08
Imperfect Pitch (XL Airways Germany Flight 888T)
S13E09
Into the Eye of the Storm (Hurricane Hunters NOAA42)
S13E10
Titanic in the Sky (Qantas Flight 32)