Flight 90: Disaster on the Potomac (1984)

Flight 90: Disaster on the Potomac is a true story based on the crash of Air Florida flight 90 on January 13, 1982 in Washington D.C. This movie follows the main players throughout the day,... See full summary »

Director:

Robert Michael Lewis

Writer:

John McGreevey

Stars:

Jeannetta Arnette, Barry Corbin, Stephen Macht

Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 1 win.

Cast

Credited cast:
Jeannetta Arnette	...	Patricia 'Nikki' Felch
Barry Corbin	...	Burt Hamilton
Stephen Macht	...	Joe Stiley
Richard Masur	...	Roger Olian
Donnelly Rhodes	...	Arland Williams
Jamie Rose	...	Marilyn Nichols
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tony Abatemarco	...	Dishevelled Man
Richard Backus	...	Larry Nichols
Richard Beauchamp	...	Jose Tirado
Burke Byrnes	...	Senior First Officer
K Callan	...	Barbara Hamilton
Larry Cedar	...	Jordan
Tamar Cooper	...	Head Nurse
Brenda Currin	...	Ticket Agent
Robert Factor	...	Lenny Skutnik

Storyline

Flight 90: Disaster on the Potomac is a true story based on the crash of Air Florida flight 90 on January 13, 1982 in Washington D.C. This movie follows the main players throughout the day, with a lot of care taken to re-create what actually went wrong, who died, and who survived. There is a lot of actual footage from the day, as well as accurate representations of aircraft type and airline.

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Plot Keywords:

disaster | airplane accident | based on true story

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Taglines:

THE TAKEOFF In a blinding snowstorm. THE CRASH On a bridge stalled with traffic. THE RESCUE That came too late. [Video]

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 April 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Flight No. 90

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Finnegan/Pinchuk Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Incorporated original television footage of the survivors as they clung to wreckage and chunks of ice in the freezing water of the Potomac.

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Goofs

Air Florida flight 90 is a Boeing 737 throughout the movie, but the scene right before the impact shows instead a McDonnell Douglas DC-9.

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Quotes

First Officer Roger Pettit: This is it. This is a losing battle trying to de-ice these things. It gives you a false feeling of security, that's all it does.
Captain Larry Wheaton: Yeah, but it satisfies the Feds.

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Connections

Edited from Lost Flight (1970)

User Reviews

A plane disaster movie, a night's worth viewing, yet nothing special

Another plane disaster movie that makes us realize what we can lose, when we lose the ones we love most. I haven't seen this flick in a donkey's age. What I remember though, that there was little insight in why this plane crashed, where around it, one end, was a set up of characters, crew and passengers, the other the aftermath, where the not many survivors, underwent hypothermia in the freezing depths of the Potomac. Given that said, the capable actor's characters and their lifestyles, before this 'down in the pages of history' disaster took place were so much fun to watch, addictively entertaining when first viewing this flick on t.v. Funny as this sounds, even without the disaster element, the movie would of probably still be worth it. I watched it a few times, and Arquette, a expectant mother to be with cute. But sadly she wasn't one of the survivors. The aftermath played off well and realistic over a great duration, one habitually generous man trapped in the Potomac, giving his life for a another. One scene that haunts me, as I always remember was three stewardess's crossing the street, bringing the bad news to Arquette's husband and father to be. Masur again, a movie stealer here, works as an electrician, where at a nuthouse, we hear one nutter spouting a list of fellow students in a chronological order. This movie also too makes you appreciate warmth. Masur togged up, pedals an exercise bike to lose weight, while saying to his dog "You think I'm nuts. You're probably right". Another scene that stays with me was a girl who lost her Spanish husband and baby. She ended up chanting something in Spanish. But overall Flight 90 is just an average plane disaster movie that relies too much on it's setting around story, where really the core it's story wasn't properly addressed. This is what derails it.