The deadly crash in the Potomac after an American Eagle jet collided with a military helicopter has stirred memories of a long-ago tragedy in Washington, D.C. An Air Florida flight taking off en route to Fort Lauderdale crashed into a bridge and tumbled into the icy Potomac in January 1982.

Donald Usher, a former helicopter pilot who helped rescue survivors from the 1982 Air Florida Flight 90 crash in the Potomac River, reflects on the emotional toll of that rescue as news of a similar tragedy unfolds in the same location.

The devastating Air Florida Flight 90 crash on Jan. 13, 1982 and subsequent rescue efforts in the ice-covered Potomac River transfixed Washington and the nation

Collision between American airlines jet and Black Hawk on Potomac revives haunting memories of the 1982 tragedy.

The aircraft experienced difficulty climbing and stalled, striking the 14th Street Bridge and crashing into the ice-covered Potomac.

The midair collision over the Potomac River on Wednesday brings back chilling memories of another tragedy in the same waters more than four decades ago—when Air Florida Flight 90, bound for Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport,

The temperature of the Potomac River was hovering just above freezing around the time of Wednesday’s collision, according to data from the U.S. Geological Survey, potentially complicating efforts to rescue passengers.

Several federal and state investigations have been launched after an American Airlines flight and a military helicopter collided near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and fell into the Potomac River,

We are now at the point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation,” said John Donnelly, the fire chief in the nation’s capital.

While some survived, 78 people died in the deadly 1982 crash.

Multiple 911 callers reported the crash near the river just before 8:55 p.m., according to the Metropolitan Police Department and the District of Columbia Fire and EMS.