PiLfan Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 i'm pretty sure the famous guy who jumped in to save someone, ended up drowning - but that shows a guy being interviewed - must be a different guy. The one who jumped in didn't drown...he couldn't make it to the plane, but came back to shore. If i remember, there were six survivors in the water after the plane went down, and because the river was frozen/almost frozen, they were using a helicopter to get the passengers out. This one guy kept giving the line from the helicopter to other survivors, until all were pulled...then when the helicopter came back for him, he was gone, along with the plane which had completely submurssed in the water...when his body was found, coroners said he was the only one of the dead who had died of drowing, along with complications from hypothermia for being in the water for nearly 30 minutes.....the 14th street bridge was named in his honor after the accident (Arland D. Williams Jr. Memorial Bridge). On top of that, the metro had a fatal accident derailing at about the same time...it was also around rush hour and a huge snowstorm was happening and all the roads were jammed with people trying to get home...this kept rescue workers from quickly getting to the scene of either accident. People were in essence trapped in DC for the remainder of the day until the bridges and subway was reopened. About 75 people died on the plane, another 4 or 5 died on the 14 st. bridge when the plane crushed their vehicles, and several more in the subway accident. Next to 9/11, Jan 13, 1982 has got to be one of the most terrifying days in the metro area's history. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan T. Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 The one who jumped in didn't drown...he couldn't make it to the plane, but came back to shore.. . . If i remember, there were six survivors in the water after the plane went down, and because the river was frozen/almost frozen, they were using a helicopter to get the passengers out. About 75 people died on the plane, another 4 or 5 died on the 14 st. bridge when the plane crushed their vehicles, and several more in the subway accident. Next to 9/11, Jan 13, 1982 has got to be one of the most terrifying days in the metro area's history. I've never forgotten the name of the guy that jumped in - Lenny Skutnick. He was on the shoreline trying to help. The helicopter would lower the rope to the survivors, and fly them to the shore. A flight attendant was hanging on to the line as the helicopter moved toward the shoreline but, weak from the frigid cold, she couldn't hang on and dropped into the icy water. Lenny Skutnick saved her life. News video shows him diving in, swimming to her, and bringing her to shore. I still get goosebumps thinking about that act of heroism. Here it is. http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/1391-119/AP-Archive?esource=feed_google_video Because of his blue shirt, news people and others assumed he was a rescue worker, but he was just a regular guy who had stopped to help out. I had driven across the 14th Street Bridge minutes before the plane crashed. Traffic was at a standstill on 395 by the Pentagon. We sat there watching as dozens of emergency vehicles screamed up 395 northbound toward the crash site. Scary day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan T. Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 So the pilot, Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger, is a hero. The guys I know named Sully would be more likely to drive their cars off the road into a river than heroically ditch a plane into a river. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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