Language Log

The sad anniversary of Air Florida Flight 90

Twenty-five years ago, as my Eastern Airline flight from Oklahoma City was landing at Washington National Airport, I noticed the pilot's apparent hesitancy as he brought the plane down in a blinding snowstorm. We  bounced on the runway and eventually pulled up at the gate. When I got off, I was surprised to find an almost empty terminal. Routinely, I went outside to take a taxi home. No taxis. So I crossed the street to board the Metro. After sitting on it for some thirty minutes, I learned that there had been a fire on the Metro on some other line, causing the entire system to shut down. My home was only about five miles from the airport so I took the only transportation available--my legs. As I walked toward Key Bridge, it was clear to me that walking was faster than the cars and trucks that were sitting motionless on the streets. Eventually I reached a pay phone, where I called my wife to tell her that I'd be late getting home. She cried in relief, explaining to me that the radio reported a plane crash at National and she was terrified that I might be on it.

The date was January 13, 1982. The crash was that of the now famous Air Florida Flight 90. I later learned that my own flight was the last one to land before the airport closed. What was so eerie to me was that as I walked home, I could see or hear nothing to indicate the tragedy that killed 78 passengers. In the blinding snow I could hear no sounds of helicopters hovering. I could hear no sirens. Even though the crash was on the next bridge east, the 14th Street Bridge, it was close enough that one would think some noise or sights might be evident. I guess it was that kind of storm.

Today's Washington Post describes how this crash left a legacy of failed communication in the airline business, especially what the article calls the "authoritarian cockpit culture dominated by captains." The conversation among the captain and others, while still on the ground and shortly after they took off, was recorded for history, including the following excerpts that may illustrate what the post article was talking about.

The First Officer indirectly expressed his concern here, which the Captain ignored. Other instances of the crew's concerns about taking off follow:

Air Florida Flight 90 then took off. There isn't much transcript because the plane reached only to the 14th Street Bridge before ramming it and crashing into the Potomac River. Here are excerpts again:

There were many problems that led up to this tragedy, but, as the Post article observes,  at least one of these may be related to the language used in the cockpit.