The Worst Day: A Plane Crash, a Train Wreck, and Remarkable Acts of Heroism in Washington, DC

A 1982 plane crash in the Potomac River was the climax of an unprecedented day in which Washington, D.C., experienced multiple air, land, and water disasters, as former firefighter Goldfarb (OCME) recaps in this white-knuckle account. On Jan. 13, 1982, a massive blizzard, compounded by the inexperience and poor decision-making of key personnel, caused a transportation snarl both above and below ground that ended with a submerged airplane and crushed subway cars. Firsthand accounts of ordinary citizens who stepped in to rescue roles fill out the author’s tense reconstruction the day’s many official missteps, including the lack of advance warning to D.C. transportation officials that federal workers would be dismissed from work early, leading to snarled traffic on snow-covered roads; poor organization among subway operators and a faulty switch that led to a collision; and the pilots of Air Florida Flight 90’s failure to properly de-ice for takeoff. After the plane plummeted into the Potomac, six passengers clung to the fuselage but could not be rescued for hours due to traffic blocking rescue vehicles, leading to one death. Goldfarb sensitively balances the events’ inherent sensationalism with a compassionate narration of the aftermath for survivors and the day’s impact on safety regulations, including mandatory life vests in airplanes. It’s a thorough record of an overlooked yet consequential disaster. (Dec.)