Encore | Guardians in the Air: Law Enforcement Aviation and the 40th Anniversary of Air Florida Flight 90, Part 1

Precinct 444: The National Law Enforcement Museum Podcast

Forty years ago, the crash of Air Florida flight 90 in the Potomac River gripped the nation’s capital. Not only did the daring skill of the United States Park Police save five lives that day, the dramatic rescue from the icy waters by helicopter forever changed the nature of aviation in law enforcement.

In this two-part series of “Guardians in the Air," we'll take a look at a Museum program released back in January 2022 that resented in a documentary style to share the stories from current U.S. Park Police aviation officers and learn more about the vital role of police aviation as our guardians in the air.
Part one discusses the role of the U.S. Park Police, the Air Florida Flight 90 crash and rescue from the perspective of Don Usher, the pilot of Eagle One.
Part two concludes the program and sheds further light on the rescue from the perspectives of onlookers, specifically Chester Panzer, who captured footage of the events. There are also remarks from then D.C. Metro Fire Department dispatcher, Steve Souder who dealt with the subway fire around the same time as the Air Florida crash and rescue.
Other content:

• Video of Guardians in the Air Program
• DC from the Air
• Eyes to the Sky - Police Aviation Digital Exhibit

Special Remarks and Eyewitnesses

• Steve Souder, D.C. Metro Fire Department, Dispatcher
• Lynn Herring, former Chief, United States Park Police
• Chester Panzer, Videographer of Flight 90 Rescue
• Don Usher, Pilot of Eagle One
• Russell E. Matthews, President, Air/Sea Heritage Foundation
• Sgt. Timothy P. Ryan, Acting Commander, Aviation Section, Special Forces Branch, United States Park Police

https://nleomf.org/museum/precinct-444/