Flight 90: Disaster on the Potomac
| Flight 90: Disaster on the Potomac | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Robert Michael Lewis |
| Produced by |
Bill Finnegan Patricia Finnegan |
| Screenplay by | John McGreevey |
| Starring |
Richard Masur Ken Olin Barry Corbin Stephen Macht Jeanetta Arnette Jamie Rose Dinah Manoff |
| Music by | Gil Melle |
| Cinematography | Fred J. Konekamp |
| Edited by |
Bernard Balmath Byron "buzz" Brandt |
Running time | 90 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Flight 90: Disaster on the Potomac is a 1984 made for television movie about Air Florida Flight 90 that crashed into the Potomac River.
Plot
On January 13, 1982 we are introduced the people whose lives will intersect on Air Florida Flight 90 from Washington, D.C. to Ft. Lauderdale. Marilyn Nichols, a stewardess has just learned she is pregnant. Priscilla Tirado and her husband Jose are flying to take up a new job. Nikki Felch is going to a trip with her boss, Joe Stiley to Alabama, but her boyfriend David Frank wants to get married. Bert Hamilton is going on a business trip to Florida, but would rather stay with his wife and son. Roger Olian is a maintenance man at a mental hospital, married to Ginger, who works in the Naval Recruitment Office. Arland D. Williams Jr. is flying to Florida to close a bank for the Federal Reserve. Marilyn, Flight attendant Kelly Duncan and the plane leave Florida and fly to Washington. They land in Washington in a blinding snowstorm. After the passengers boarded the plane they had to sit for 50 minutes. This caused ice to accumulate on the plane. Most passengers ignore the stewardesses safety talk. The de-icing that was done was done improperly. The pilots seemed unconcerned about ice on the wings. When the plane tries to take off, ice on the sensors causes the pilots to have a false idea of their speed. The plane only gets to 352 feet altitude before it stalls. The plane hits the 14th Street Bridge and crashes into the Potomac River. Bert Hamilton, Joe Stiley, Nikki Felch, Priscilla Tirado, Kelly Duncan and Arland Williams make it out of the plane and cling to a piece of wreckage in the freezing river. Roger Olain, who was on the bridge plunges into the river to try to help. Meanwhile, friends and relatives learn about the crash. Donald Usher and Melvin Windsor take off in their helicopter. Olain gets close enough to shout encouragement to the survivors. The helicopter rescues Bert Hamilton. When it returns Arland Williams passes the rescue line to Kelly Duncan. They pull Olain out of the river. Each time when offered the rope, Williams passed it on to Joe, Nikki and Priscilla. Joe is pulled to shore, but a stranger, Lenny Skutnik has to jump in and pull Priscilla to shore. By the time Nikki is rescued, Arland has slipped beneath the water. The survivors start to come to terms with what happened.
Cast
Jeanetta Arnette as Nikki Felch
Barry Corbin as Burt Hamilton
Stephen Macht as Joe Stiley
Richard Masur as Roger Olian
Donnelly Rhodes as Arland D. Williams Jr.
Jamie Rose as Marilyn Nichols
Chad Lowe as Al Hamilton
Dinah Manoff as Priscilla Tirado
Ken Olin as David Frank
Kathleen Wilhoite as Kelly Duncan
Robert Factor as Lenny Skutnik
Accolades
The movie was nominated for the Outstanding Film Sound Editing for a Limited Series or a Special and the Outstanding Film Sound Mixing For a Limited Series or a Special at the 36th Primetime Emmy Awards.