A dramatic plane crash in frigid temperatures. And a search and rescue that saved lives on the same partially frozen Potomac River. Almost 43 years ago to the day, tragedy struck when a commercial jet − Air Florida Flight 90 − plunged into icy waters shortly after an afternoon takeoff from the same airport where a passenger jet with 64 people aboard collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday night.

CBS News Miami's Chelsea Jones spoke with South Florida flyers who were traveling at the time of the collision.

The deadly crash in the Potomac after an American Eagle jet collided with a military helicopter has stirred memories of a long-ago tragedy in Washington, D.C. An Air Florida flight taking off en route to Fort Lauderdale crashed into a bridge and tumbled into the icy Potomac in January 1982.

One of the pilots of the passenger jet involved in a mid-air collision in Washington, D.C. was a native of New York but grew up in Florida, where he learned to fly planes, according to records and statements from those who knew him.

For Tampa International Airport Chaplain Joseph Krzanowski, Wednesday’s plane crash near Washington D.C. brings back old memories.

The temperature of the Potomac River was hovering just above freezing around the time of Wednesday’s collision, according to data from the U.S. Geological Survey, potentially complicating efforts to rescue passengers.

The devastating Air Florida Flight 90 crash on Jan. 13, 1982 and subsequent rescue efforts in the ice-covered Potomac River transfixed Washington and the nation

Several federal and state investigations have been launched after an American Airlines flight and a military helicopter collided near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and fell into the Potomac River,