There was also a subway disaster.............


. I will discuss the ground transportation standpoint of this disaster, as well as the unrelated subway disaster that occurred about one half hour later.
There was a major snowstorm that was covering the Washington, D.C. area with considerable accumulation, and there was an early release of federal employees, and heavy strain on the region's transportation system.
The plane had taken off from nearby Washington National Airport, and due to wing icing and pilot error, the aircraft lost altitude and crashed into the 14th Street Bridge and the Potomac River less than a mile from the airport. There were only 5 survivors out of 79 people on board. The plane was a Boeing 737 two-engine jet airliner that was Air Florida Flight 90. The aircraft descended nose-high and tail-low, and at 4:01 PM, the tail struck the deck and parapet of the Rochambeau Bridge (the northbound span), struck seven vehicles, killed 4 motorists and injured 4 motorists, and went into the frozen river between the Rochambeau Bridge and the express span (they are a couple hundred yards apart). The aircraft shattered the surface ice, and broke into multiple large pieces which quickly sank into the river. There were a total of 78 fatalities. Traffic was already stopped in a traffic jam, due to the storm. Between the effects of the storm, and the rescue efforts around the 14th Street (I-395/US-1) bridges, the 12-lane complex ceased to function, and closed to traffic. The George Washington Parkway, which parallels the Potomac River in Virginia, also closed near the crash site.