January 13, 1982
Washington D.C.
Air Florida, Flight 90
Boeing B-737-222
N62AF
The aircraft crashed into the 14th St. bridge and the Potomac River and sank shortly after
taking off from Washington National Airport. The aircraft reached a peak altitude of 300 ft.
The flight crew's failure to use the engine anti-icing system during takeoff. Failure to de-ice
the plane a second time before takeoff and taking off with snow/ice on the airfoil surfaces of
the aircraft. Ice which accumulated on the engine pressure probes resulted in erroneously
high Engine Pressure Ratio (EPR) readings. When the throttles were set to takeoff EPR, the
engines were actually developing significantly less than takeoff thrust. Seventy-four out of
79 aboard killed.
CA = Captain
F/O = First Officer
TWR = Tower
15:59:16 | CA | Given. |
15:59:16 | F/O | Bleeds? |
15:59:17 | CA | They're off. |
15:59:18 | F/O | Strobes, external lights. |
15:59:18 | CA | On. |
15:59:19 | F/O | Anti-skid? |
15:59:19 | CA | On. |
15:59:21 | F/O | Transponder? |
15:59:21 | CA | On. |
15:59:24 | TWR | Palm 90 cleared for takeoff. |
15:59:28 | TWR | No delay on departure if you will, traffic's two and a half out for the runway. |
15:59:32 | CA | Okay, your throttles. |
15:59:35 | [Sound of engine spool-up] | |
15:59:49 | CA | Holler if you need the wipers. |
15:59:51 | CA | It's spooled. Real cold, real cold. |
15:59:58 | F/O | God, look at that thing. That don't seem right, does it? Uh, that's not right |
16:00:09 | CA | Yes it is, there's eighty |
16:00:10 | F/O | Naw, I don't think that's right. Ah, maybe it is. |
16:00:21 | CA | CAM-1 Hundred and twenty. |
16:00:23 | F/O | CAM-2 I don't know |
16:00:31 | CA | Vee-one. Easy, vee-two |
16:00:39 | [Sound of stickshaker starts and continues until impact] | |
16:00:41 | TWR | Palm 90 contact departure control. |
16:00:45 | CA | Forward, forward, easy. We only want five hundred. |
16:00:48 | CA | Come on forward....forward, just barely climb. |
16:00:59 | CA | Stalling, we're falling! |
16:01:00 | F/O | Larry, we're going down, Larry.... |
16:01:01 | CA | I know it. |
16:01:01 | [Sound of impact] |