Last night's mid-air collision over the Potomac reminded me of January 1982 and the heroism of Lenny Skutnick:
On a bitterly cold and snowy day in January 1982, Air Florida flight 90 took off from Washington D.C. heading to Tampa, Florida.
Immediately after takeoff the plane began experiencing problems from the ice that had formed on its wings. It plummeted, skipping off Washington’s 14th Street bridge and crashing into the icy waters of the Potomac River.
The ensuing rescue effort was broadcast on local television. Frigid temperatures and bad weather hampered the first responders. With time running out to save the crash victims, a bystander named Lenny Skutnik suddenly jumped in and saved flight attendant Priscilla Trijado, who had twice fallen back into the water after slipping away from rescue lines.
A speechwriter for Ronald Reagan named Aram Bakshian was watching the coverage. He immediately thought Skutnik’s story would resonate with the American people and decided to include it in his draft of Reagan’s upcoming State of the Union address.
Here is Reagan's SOTU tribute to Skutnick.
The low level of humanity tempts some of us to misanthropy. But there is no denying that heroes walk among us. Daniel Penny is another. And there is no denying that the White House from time to time is graced with a truly worthy occupant. Reagan, and now Trump.
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