Flight 90: Disaster on the Potomac

A good reenactment of the facts of Jan.13th 1982, when AF90 sunk in the freezy Potomac river. How can an air crash change the vision of the survivors about life? We can see in this picture the workers, stewardesses, pilots and passengers amidst a strong snow storm, and the worry of some of them ,specially Joe Stiley(Stephen Macht) about the ice in the wings,and when he asks about it, nobody answers. The actitude of some survivors, as Arland Williams(Donnely Rhodes) is enough to make you understand the meaning of life in a critic situation. I think this is one of the most dramatic scenes of the movie. We see also the drama behind the rescue workers in the helicopter and the efforts to save these shocked people of a frozen river. And the special effects, in the moment when airplane starts to stall and everything falls from the roof of the plane, the safety position of Joe, Nikki Felch, Bert Hamilton and Kelly Duncan( a great play of Kathleen Wilhoite as the youngest stewardess)

This picture shows us an important lesson: You must be very crazy to aboard an airplane in a snow storm, unless you are sure you won't end your flight in an ice trap.

This is a movie that should be put on video. It is very well done and very accurate. I haven't seen it since it originally aired on network television, but I still remember it very well. I remember the character played by Donnelly Rhodes kept passing his opportunity to escape to other survivors. It was heart-breaking to watch that play out. I remember Richard Masur's character trying to swim out to assist the survivors. I remember the woman who lost her husband and baby trying to find her will to survive. I was young when it aired and I remember people making a big deal about it the days leading up to it because it was so effective and accurate. I know I'd love to see it again.

I remembered the crash vividly and how there were only five survivors. I also remember this movie very well. The cast was pictured sitting around, looking very serious, holding life preservers and flotation rings. There was no scene of the crash, we see a man in a car looking up at the unseen plane, then the screen goes black and we hear the crash; fade to commercial. Comes back and we see people running to the bridge and the edge of the river.

Before the crash, we are handed the stories of Jamie Rose, Richard Backus, Richard Masur, Donelly Rhodes, Barry Corbin, Stephen Macht and Dinah Manoff. The only survivor we are not told about is Kelly Duncan, played by Kathleen Wilhote. This crash was the one that began pointing out the survivors came from the end of the plane, and all we see of Kelly Duncan is that she is seated in the very rear of the plane. The makers of this film were too eager to tell this story, something that, thanks to the Amy Fisher movies, we have hopefully seen the last of. Because of this, the part of rescuer Lenny Skutnik was reduced to an absolute minimum with no emphasis whatsoever. Skutnik felt the movie was exploitive of the survivors, among them, Prisilla Tirado, played by Dinah Manoff, whom he had rescued. Therefore the part of Richard Masur came into prominence. An outstanding moment is when relations are trying to find out if their loved ones have survived. We see Ken Olin, who knows his fiancée cannot have lived. The nurse asks who he is waiting for. He tells her 'Nikki'. She replies the female survivors are Kelly and Prisilla and Pat.

He leaps to his feet and says she goes by the name Pat. From there, we venture to Corbin's survival and learn that Pat Finch, played by Jeannetta Arnette would walk down the aisle at her wedding one year later. Except for the Skutnik problem, this could have been an enlightening movie.

I was scheduled to be on this exact flight, returning to Florida from Washington after doing some military research at the Pentagon, however due to a family health problem canceled out two days before ...

Have thought of this moment many, many times over these last now 25+ years in wondering " what if " ...

This docudrama sets out the most important facts of that horrible day in very close detail ... It may possibly have been better, however it does tell the true story ...

The major miracle is that there were 5 survivors and even more most heroic men and women who took it upon themselves to throw themselves into this unbelievable rescue operation ... They are the real and true heroes of that day ...

I was interested, since I was on that flight.

I didn't see ANY resemblance between me and the actor who portrayed me.

I was aware of the differences, in fact, between what was presented, and the actual events of the day.

What I learned = how my memory has observed actual experiences, how it has observed " distorted facts", what I learned from media, how pain medicine acts on a victim, how the media exploits victims, with little or no regard for their immediate needs, in the aftermath of a disaster, ... I had MULTIPLE reporters who lied to the hospital switchboard operator, claiming to be my Mother, in order to talk to me, how they crowded into my small hospital room in order to stick microphones in my face, as soon as I regained consciousness, how they published a picture claiming that a woman who was standing beside my bed was my wife (which she was not), ... I have learned to despise those low life animals!!!!

I don't think the movie caught any of those events.

So, to me, I thought the movie was exploitative, and don't recommend it to my friends. There is plenty of live video available. Also, I have been interviewed often, in that era, and say what I had to say, for anyone interested.

Joe Stiley (still kicking, at 83, living where it never freezes, in Southern Mexico).