President Trump said the crash was a "tragedy of terrible proportions" and told family members "Our hearts are shattered alongside yours."

The recent crash and rescue on the icy river between DC and Virginia sparks memories of Air Florida's 1982 disaster.

Daniel Izzo, a retired Navy SEAL master chief, has conducted water rescues after plane crashes and says winter conditions in the Potomac River make the situation even more dangerous. "It always seems like something like this happens at the worst possible time," Izzo said. "It happened at night. It happened in January."

A Boeing 737 crashed into a bridge over the river on Jan. 13, 1982, just after taking off from Washington National Airport in a snowstorm.

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.

Among those killed were two with Florida connections: the pilot of the plane, Jonathan Campos, and the son of a Venice couple.

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,

Divers are expected to return to the Potomac River as part of the recovery and investigation after the United States' deadliest aviation disaster in almost a quarter century.

Feller, who served as an instructor pilot for the D.C. National Guard, said he had several rules for new pilots to avoid such collisions. He warned them to stay below the mandated 200-foot ceiling for helicopters. And he urged them to be on guard for planes landing on 3-3 because they could be difficult to spot.

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