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Meanwhile, rescue workers feverishly tossed out ropes and ladders over the frozen river and launched rubber dinghies, but their efforts were hampered by floating chunks of ice. As dusk fell, searchlights were switched on, but by 5:30, officials realized the quest was in vain. Divers sent down to inspect the fuselage had discovered that nearly all of the passengers were still strapped in their seats. The toll: 78 dead, including four motorists. Only five aboard Flight 90—four passengers and a stewardess—survived the first major U.S. airline crash in 26 months.
Even as the search for survivors ended, a team of 70 experts from the National Transportation Safety Board began piecing together the reasons for the disaster. One possible cause: ice on the wings and tail, which acts as a drag on the plane. That afternoon, the 737 had been swabbed twice with glycol, an anti-icing chemical, but more than 20 minutes had elapsed between the second coat and takeoff. The plane's engines may also have sucked up slush from the runway, thereby diminishing their power during the critical climb. Survivor Stiley is a pilot, and he recalls that "the plane was just too heavy as it was going down the runway." He remembers turning to his secretary in the next seat—she also survived the crash—and saying, "We're not going to make it." Investigators are mystified as to why the plane's landing gear was still down when the jetliner hit the bridge; usually the wheels are brought up immediately after takeoff. Says one aviation expert: "Flight 90 appears to have been barely airborne, and may have been staggering along at maximum power trying to get altitude."
Divers plunged into the icy Potomac to retrieve the "black boxes"—the flight data and cockpit voice recorders—that were in the tail of the plane. The divers were also examining the wreckage to see how the rest of the plane, and the bodies trapped inside, should be recovered. Meanwhile, National Airport, which was closed again immediately after the crash, opened the next day. Every few minutes, a departing plane roared over the icy waters that held the wreckage of Flight 90. —By James Kelly. Reported by Maureen Dowd and Jerry Hannifin/Washington