Air Florida Flight 90

The Skutnick

It was an icy, wintry day, January 13, 1982, when Air Florida Flight 90 took
off from Washington National Airport (now Ronald Reagan Washington National
Airport) headed to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
Tragically, the plane crashed into the 14th Street Bridge over the Potomac
River shortly after take-off. Of the 74 passengers and five crew members,
only four passengers and one crew member survived.

A helicopter was involved in the rescues. "Eagle 1, a United States Park
Police Bell 206L-1 Long Ranger helicopter (registry number N22PP), based at
the 'Eagles Nest' at Anacostia Park in Washington and manned by pilot Donald
W. Usher and paramedic Melvin E. Windsor, arrived and began attempting to
airlift the survivors to shore. At great risk to themselves, the crew
worked close to the water's surface, at one time coming so close to the
ice-clogged river that the helicopter's skids dipped beneath the surface"
(Wikipedia).

After successfully towing two survivors to shore with a lifeline, the
helicopter and its crew returned to the wreckage in the icy waters of the
Potomac. This time two lifelines were dropped down to the remaining
survivors. Arland Williams, Jr., who later drowned, passed one lifeline to
"Joe Stiley, who was holding on to a panic-stricken and blinded (from jet
fuel) Priscilla Tirado, who had lost her husband and baby. Stiley's
co-worker, Nikki Felch, took the second line. As the helicopter pulled the
three through the water and blocks of ice toward shore, both Tirado and
Felch lost their grips and fell back into the water" (Wikipedia).

"Priscilla Tirado was too weak to grab the line when the helicopter returned
to her. A watching bystander, Congressional Budget Office assistant, Lenny
Skutnik, stripped off his coat and boots, and in short sleeves, dove into
the icy water and swam out to successfully pull her to shore" (Wikipedia).
The helicopter went back to get Felch and paramedic Windsor stepped out onto
the helicopter skid and grabbed her by her clothing to lift her onto the
skid with him, bringing her to shore.

U.S. President Ronald Reagan invited Skutnik to attend the 1982 State of the
Union address on January 26, 1982. He sat next to First Lady Nancy Reagan.
In his address, Reagan praised Skutnik with these words:

"Just two weeks ago, in the midst of a terrible tragedy on the Potomac, we
saw again the spirit of American heroism at its finest: the heroism of
dedicated rescue workers saving crash victims from icy waters. And, we saw
the heroism of one of our young government employees, Lenny Skutnik, who,
when he saw a woman lose her grip on the helicopter line, dived into the
water and dragged her to safety."

Skutnik received a standing ovation from the audience. He was deservedly
hailed as a hero. *

When we were "drowning" in sin, Jesus came to our rescue. He temporarily
removed His heavenly robes of splendor and clothed Himself in human flesh.
He descended into the "troubled waters" of this world and gave His life on
the cross in order to rescue us from sin. Only He, the sinless Son of God,
could pay the price for our sins in order to save us.

"For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous,
to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the
Spirit" (1 Peter 3:18 NIV84).

If we accept His lifeline, we can be saved through His atoning sacrifice.

God will save and give eternal life to those who place their faith and trust
in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turn from their sins in repentance (Acts
17:30-31), confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized
(immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38). He will
continue to cleanse from sin those who continue to walk in the light of His
Word (1 John 1:7-9).

Won't YOU take of the Lifeline through your trusting obedience?

-- David A. Sargent

* Information gleaned from "Lenny Skutnick" and "Air Florida Flight 90"
entries in www.wikipedia.com.

David A. Sargent, Minister
davidsargent1@comcast.net

Jack Zorn

Impact

On August 28, 2021, wonderful tributes were made to a man who impacted
thousands of people for good and for God. Jack Zorn was the man who was
memorialized that day with glory to the God that he served.

One of the people who spoke at Dr. Zorn's funeral was a distinguished
African American man in uniform. The uniformed man may not have been known
by many in attendance at the funeral, but this man knew and deeply
appreciated Dr. Zorn. He shared that day and also on Facebook how Dr. Zorn
had impacted his life. Here is his Facebook post:

I've always wanted to be an aviator since age six. When I was about 13, I
would ride my bicycle from Mobile Hwy to Dannelly Field Airport [in
Montgomery, AL] just to hang on the gate all day long watching F-4 Phantoms
takeoff and land. One day a wonderful man named Dr. Jack Zorn (Lads to
Leaders founder) saw me hanging around the fence at Montgomery Aviation and
asked if I wanted to come inside and get a close up of his Cessna 182
(N1444S). Of course I accepted because I had never seen the inside of a
cockpit up close. Later he received permission from my mother and we
actually went flying on several occasions. I initially got in trouble
because my mother didn't know her son was riding a bicycle on Highway 80
chasing F-4's, but she knew my passion. I thank the Lord for allowing our
paths to cross, and I pray that he knows that it was an ordained meeting
that I will cherish for the rest of my life. I now pay it forward to the
youth in hopes that I may impact a young life the same way he impacted mine.
I will forever miss him! To God be the glory!

Thomas Day, First Officer
ATP, CFI, CFII, MEI, AGI, IGI
Birmingham, AL

Because of Dr. Zorn's encouragement, Thomas Day fulfilled his dream of
becoming an airplane pilot.

A good friend of mine, Steve Phillips, shared Day's Facebook post on his
page. Dr. Zorn's daughter, Rhonda Fernandez, posted a comment thanking
Steve for sharing the information and included these words of reflection:
"[I'm] so proud of Daddy. [Here was] a little boy - many days a week for a
very long period of time [with] his nose in the chain link fence, invisible
to all except Daddy."

That young teen, Thomas Day, is forever grateful that Dr. Zorn noticed him,
befriended him, and encouraged him to fulfill his dreams.

Dr. Zorn "noticed" many young people throughout his life and encouraged them
to become Christians and leaders in the church. By his example, his
influence, and the Lads to Leaders/Leaderettes Program that he began, my
children, many children at Creekwood Church of Christ, and thousands of
children throughout the world have been impacted and challenged to become
Christian leaders.

I think Dr. Zorn "noticed" people because every soul is important to God.
Every person has sinned (Romans 3:23) and desperately needs a Savior. God
loves every person so much that He gave His one and only Son to die on the
cross for the sins of the world (John 3:16; 1 John 2:2). God will save and
give eternal life to those who place their faith and trust in Jesus (Acts
16:30-31), turn from sin in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Jesus before
men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized (immersed) into Christ for the
forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38). He will continue to cleanse from sin those
who continue to walk in the light of His Word (1 John 1:7-9).

Dear reader, God has "noticed" you and wants to save you for an eternity.
Won't you accept His loving offer by trusting and obeying Jesus?

-- David A. Sargent

P.S. With love, appreciation, and admiration for Dr. Jack Zorn (1934-2021)
for his love for God, Jesus, the Word of God, and for his passion to teach
and train young people to become Christian leaders.

David A. Sargent, Minister
davidsargent1@comcast.net

Church of Christ at Creekwood
http://www.creekwoodcc.org

1901 Schillinger Rd. S.
Mobile, Alabama 36695

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