FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Donald Usher knows the race to rescue well.
In January 1982, Usher was piloting a park police helicopter on a frigid day when Air Florida Flight 90, bound for Fort Lauderdale, crashed into the 14th Street Bridge and plunged into the frozen Potomac River.
“We spent probably a total of 10 minutes of rescue and the rest of the time searching for any other survivors,” Usher said. “The sorrow of all those lives – again – going into the Potomac.”
Alongside his partner Gene Windsor, Usher was able to save lives that day.
“The first several people that were brought to shore were kind of dragged along the ice by Gene,” Usher recalled.
Windsor said he encountered a woman — so cold and weak — she couldn’t hang on to her life ring.
“If somebody didn’t do something she was going to drown,” Usher added.
A bystander jumped in and helped bring her to shore.
“There’s always things that come back to your mind about what might have been, or what you could have done, or what if,” Usher said.
Usher’s helicopter is now displayed at the National Law Enforcement Museum.
Though many years have passed, Usher’s heart remains with today’s first responders.
“You have to do your job no matter how bad that looks,” he said. “They’re out there, they’re risking their lives to save others.”