No one from the front of the plane survived. News media outlets followed the story with diligence. She lives in Florida in the town where her parents lived - her father, who was her protector and spokesman, died in 1999. He puts on the tape of the State of the Union address Ronald Reagan delivered shortly after the crash, and we are transported to another time. Today she is a 43-year-old pre-school teacher at a Christian school, married to a tennis pro and the mother of three. But there is some bitterness, too, about what came after. The operator had no means to determine if the proportioning valves were operating properly because no "mix monitor" was installed on the nozzle. That's what made it so big.'. She broke her wrist and ankle in the crash and still bears a wide six-inch scar on the back of her left thigh, but her physical injuries were not terrible. The engines anti-ice heaters were not engaged during the ground operation and takeoff. The family members of those killed say, too, that there is no blueprint for the grief one faces after such a sudden, public loss. 'Immeasurable,' is how Harvard's EO Wilson describes the loss. The snow on the banks was easily two feet high and your legs and feet would fall deep into it every time you moved from the water. At the time of the accident, he had approximately 3,353 flight hours, 992 with Air Florida, all on the 737. As it fluttered away, Joan says, these words formed in her mind: 'Bye, Bob. The only way you have to keep them is to think about them over and over again.'. While running through the takeoff checklist, the following conversation snippet took place (CAM-1 is the captain, CAM-2 is the first officer): Despite the icing condition with weather temperature of about 24 °F (-4 °C), the crew failed to activate the engine anti-ice systems,[6] which caused the Engine pressure ratio (EPR) thrust indicators to provide false readings. But for years after the crash, thoughts of him still smoldered in her head like an underground fire. She pops it into the VCR, and there she is in the water, pieces of ice as big as doors bobbing around her. When he died, it became wrapped up in his loss. The Citadel in South Carolina, from which he graduated in 1957, has several memorials to him. "Larry, we're going down, Larry," said First Officer Roger Pettit. The Capstan was considerably farther downriver on another search-and-rescue mission. Nikki was one of only 6 initial survivors, and one of 5 who made it out the Potomac River on January 13, 1982. His father, William, a communications executive, died at the age of 44 while travelling on business. Eventually, a tug ground unit properly equipped with snow chains was used to push the aircraft back from the gate. She felt guilty that she was alive. Arland Williams, 46, was the only victim of the crash who died of drowning, not trauma. She didn't want to go, but she also didn't want to become 'like a character in a book who never gets over it'. Aug. 5, 2002 -- It's been more than 20 years since Air Florida Flight 90 took off from National Airport and crashed onto a bridge in downtown Washington, then plunged into the icy waters of the Potomac River. In a dusty glass-fronted case on the piano bench, Skutnik keeps the palm-sized Carnegie Medal for heroism and the Coast Guard's Gold Lifesaving Medal.