"Others First" — Arland D. Williams Jr., the Man Who Passed the Lifeline Five Times in the Frozen Potomac
On January 13, 1982, Air Florida Flight 90 crashed into the icy Potomac River in Washington, D.C., and a quiet federal bank examiner named Arland D. Williams Jr. repeatedly handed the rescue helicopter's lifeline to fellow survivors instead of saving himself. By the time the helicopter returned for him the sixth time, he had slipped beneath the frozen water — a selfless act that would make him one of America's most remembered civilian heroes.
Apr 11, 2026