On January 13, 1982, Washington DC and the surrounding area experienced a blizzard that paralyzed everything including the National Airport. Most of the day the airport would not allow any air flight takeoffs or landings. On that fateful day a decision was made to allow Air Florida Flight 90 to attempt a takeoff. The 737 had been delayed for hours. The chain of events that led to the ultimate crash into the 14th Street Bridge that broke the plane into three pieces and eventually caused it to fall into the icy waters of the Potomac River just as darkness approached seem unimagin­able. Renda Brumbeloe chronicles those chains of events. He writes that the bad weather conditions led to a string of optional irregular operating procedures and departures from company policy. Regret­tably, no one …