Today in History: January 13, Plane crash into Potomac River in snowstorm kills 78
Today is Tuesday, Jan. 13, the 13th day of 2026. There are 352 days left in the year.
Today in history:
On Jan. 13, 1982, an Air Florida Boeing 737 crashed into Washington, D.C.’s 14th Street Bridge and plunged into the Potomac River shortly after takeoff from Washington National Airport during a snowstorm, killing 78 people, including four motorists on the bridge; four passengers and a flight attendant survived.
Also on this date:
In 1733, James Oglethorpe and some 120 English colonists arrived at Charleston, South Carolina, while en route to settle in present-day Georgia.
In 1794, President George Washington approved a measure adding two stars and two stripes to the American flag, following the admission of Vermont and Kentucky to the Union. (The number of stripes was later reduced to the original 13.)
In 1941, a law took effect affirming that those born in Puerto Rico are granted U.S. birthright citizenship.
In 1979, singer Donny Hathaway died in a fall from a hotel window in New York. He was 34. Hathaway was known for his duets with Roberta Flack and the holiday song “This Christmas.”
In 1990, L. Douglas Wilder of Virginia became the nation’s first elected Black governor as he took the oath of office in Richmond, the state’s capital.
In 1992, Japan apologized for forcing tens of thousands of Korean women to serve as sex slaves for its soldiers during World War II, citing newly uncovered documents that showed the Japanese army had a role in abducting the so-called “comfort women.”
In 2012, the Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia slammed into a reef and capsized in shallow water while maneuvering off the coast of Italy, killing 32 of the 4,200 people aboard.
In 2021, President Donald Trump was impeached by the U.S. House over the violent Jan. 6 siege of the Capitol, becoming the only president twice impeached; 10 Republicans joined Democrats in voting to impeach Trump on a charge of “incitement of insurrection.” (Trump would again be acquitted by the Senate in a vote after his term was over.)
Today’s birthdays:
- Golf Hall of Famer Mark O’Meara is 69.
- Actor Julia Louis-Dreyfus is 65.
- Country singer Trace Adkins is 64.
- Actor Patrick Dempsey is 60.
- TV producer-writer Shonda Rhimes is 56.
- Actor Orlando Bloom is 49.
- Actor Liam Hemsworth is 36.
- Actor Natalia Dyer is 31.
- NHL center Connor McDavid is 29.