Survivor of 1982 DC plane crash credits pilot school lesson with saving his life

A survivor of a deadly 1982 plane crash into the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., says the Jan. 29 plane collision brought back memories of his unlikely survival more than 40 years ago.

The recent collision of American Airlines Flight 5342 with an Army Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk over the Potomac killed every person aboard both aircraft, a total of 64 people. The collision had some jarring similarities to the Jan. 13, 1982, crash that killed 78 people.

Joseph Stiley, 86, is one of five people who survived that disaster, when Air Florida Flight 90 left what is now Washington Reagan National Airport (DCA) and struck the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C., at which point it crashed into the icy Potomac.

"The memories just make me realize how lucky I am. I did what I had to do, and it worked," Stiley told People. "I also say to myself, 'Joe, you've analyzed, and you made a decision, and then it kept you alive.'"

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Air Florida crash victim Joseph Stiley tells reporters of his rescue from the river. (Frank Johnson/The Washington Post)

Siley was a licensed pilot at the time and knew to curl into a ball as passengers braced for impact while others sat straight up, he recalled.

"I was a busy flight instructor, and I specialize in teaching aeronautics and instruments. ... I went through a survival school for pilots," Stiley told People. "I knew we were in deep s--- before we were off the runway."

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The fuselage from Air Florida's Flight 90 in the Potomac River. (Getty Images)

The 86-year-old broke 60 bones in the crash and remains handicapped to this day.

"I wrapped myself in a little ball and got down and put my back against the seat in front of me with my hands over my head," he told the outlet. "All the fingers on my left hand and a couple of them on my right hand got broken, so it was a good thing I had my fingers where they were."

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On Jan 13, 1982, the plane crashed into the 14th Street Bridge, and then the river, shortly after takeoff, killing most of the 74 passengers, all but one of the crew and four bystanders. (Mark Reinstein)

At the time of the Flight 90 disaster, Stiley was working for General Telephone & Electronics, and his assistant, the late Patricia Felch, was on the flight with him. Felch also miraculously survived.

Stiley said he lost consciousness when the plane made impact with the Potomac but awoke when he felt water entering his nose and mouth. The plane had cracked open near his seat, and he told Felch to hold onto his leg as they fled the destroyed aircraft. 

Along the way, he grabbed another survivor, Priscilla Tirado, who lost her son and baby in the crash, according to People.

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Crewmen of a landing barge, with the bow lowered, fish a woman's boot from the Potomac River after the crash of Air Florida's Flight 90 in Washington, D.C., Jan. 15, 1982.? (Doug Chevalier/The Washington Post)

"She was looking for her baby, who was the last body recovered all the way down in the Chesapeake Bay a week later," Stiley said.

When asked his thoughts on the recent D.C. collision, Stiley told People his "heart goes out to all the families, and it goes out to those that died.

"My biggest concern now is for the probable children that have just lost a parent ... and, of course, the spouses," he told the outlet.

WATCH: VIDEO APPEARS TO SHOW MIDAIR PLANE CRASH AT DCA

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The National Transportation Safety Board continues to investigate the Jan. 29 collision of the American Airlines passenger flight and military Black Hawk. There have been at least 238 deaths and 227 injuries from non-combat U.S. military aircraft crashes since 2012, according to the FAA.

There have also been multiple "close call" incidents at DCA since 2023.