WASHINGTON ( DC News Now ) — On Jan. 13, 1982, tragedy struck as a plane crashed into the 14th Street Bridge, leading to dozens of lives lost and significant changes to air travel safety procedures.
As is today, early January in 1982 was cold, snowy and icy. The Potomac River – which flows underneath the bridge connecting Arlington with the District – was frozen.
Weather conditions on Jan. 12 had caused Washington National Airport to close, but it reopened by noon on the 13th as snowfall began to ease, according to Arlington Historical . Air Florida Flight 90, a Boeing 737-200 plane, was delayed in its departure due to a backlog of other flights taking off and landing…