Written by Roger Rosenblatt, "The Man In The Water" is an essay published in TIME Magazine in 1982. In this personal essay, Rosenblatt reflects on the heroic actions of a few people after a plane hit a bridge and crashed into the Potomac River in the winter of 1982. More specifically, Rosenblatt focuses on the selfless actions of one crash victim, known only as the man in the water.

On January 13, 1982, Air Florida Flight 90 crashed into Washington DC’s 14th Street Bridge and plunged into the Potomac River. There had been a heavy snowstorm which had closed National Airport earlier that day. Improper de-icing procedures were credited as a major reason for the crash; 78 people were killed, four of these fatalities were motorists from the bridge who had been caught in the traffic jam caused by the storm. Only five people were rescued from the icy waters, and their rescue was broadcast live during the evening news. A news media crew, stuck in traffic only a few hundred yards away from the plane crash, filmed one rescuer’s memorable plunge to pull a flight attendant  from the icy water.

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