Washington, USA – On Wednesday, January 13, 1982, an Air Florida flight leaving the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (then Washington National Airport) plummeted into the icy Potomac River.
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The accident claimed the lives of 78 passengers, several crew members, and fatally impacted motorists.
Only five of those aboard the aircraft survived the tragedy, including Joseph Stiley.
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The site of the accident over 40 years ago was the same place where a regional jet conveying 64 people collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday, January 29, 2025. It was the first major crash of a US commercial passenger flight since Colgan Air Flight 3407 in 2009.
Flight 5342 was on final approach after departing from Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport in Wichita, Kansas, while the helicopter crew was performing a required annual night flying evaluation out of Davison Army Airfield in Fairfax County, Virginia.
The DC plane collision triggered the flashback to 1982.
Speaking with People in an interview published on Wednesday, February 5, Stiley relived:
“I wrapped myself in a little ball and got down and put my back against the seat in front of me with my hands over my head.
“All the fingers on my left hand and a couple of them on my right hand got broken, so it was a good thing I had my fingers where they were.”
The Seattle Times stated that Stiley was the most severely injured survivor, with more than 60 broken bones. Doctors inserted steel pins to hold his shattered tibia in place.
He disclosed that his body never fully recovered and he is still handicapped by spinal damage from that day.
How likely is it to survive a plane crash?
In a study in 1996, the European Transport Safety Council estimated that 90% of aircraft accidents were technically survivable.
Survival chances largely depend on factors like the presence of fire, the altitude a mishap takes place, and its location.
In general, experts say being aware of one’s surroundings and the swiftness in exiting is key when there is danger.