Here are two examples of agape love, both from the crash of Air Florida Flight 90 into the Potomac River.
Arnold D. Williams, Jr.
But then January 13 came and all the paramedics, news reporters, bystanders on the river and the hundreds of rush hour commuters watching from the bridge were helpless to reach the screaming passengers. The Coast Guard tug boat that normally would have responded to such a disaster was downriver assisting in another operation. Some civilians jumped into the river to try and save the crash victims, but had to turn back because of the frigid water. Hypothermia began to affect the passengers, and their chances of survival grew increasingly slim. Arnold knew this. But he remained calm and composed, even as he and other panicked survivors sunk deeper into the Potomac.
A helicopter finally arrived 20 minutes after the crash; long, slow minutes I would imagine. The pilots lowered a line to Arnold, who took it and gave it to another passenger. Then they lowered another line to him. He again took it and gave it to another passenger. In the end, five of the six stranded passengers survived.
http://www.byutv.org/seethegood/post/Remembering-the-%E2%80%98Man-in-the-Water%E2%80%99.aspxon January 13, 1982, something extraordinary happened. On that day, you see, Lenny Skutnik became an American hero. On that cold January day, Air Florida Flight 90 crashed into the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Somewhat reminiscent of the recent airline crash in San Francisco, the airplane clipped the 14th Street Bridge on takeoff and dropped into the ice-choked river, killing 74 passengers on board and four people on the bridge. Observing the rescue operations from the shore of the river, Lenny Skutnik, who was just a by-stander, watched as Priscilla Tirado struggled to grab hold of a lifeline dropped to her from a rescue helicopter. As her hands slipped from the lifeline, she started to sink into the frozen river. Seeing the disaster unfold before him, Skutnik tore off his boots and coat and dove into the snowbound Potomac River.
After being dragged to the shore, Priscilla Tirado, though nearly frozen from the icy waters, was taken to the hospital and miraculously survived. As a result, Skutnik was rightfully hailed as a hero. Although he had no training as a "first responder," he didn’t need it. He simply saw someone in need and acted without hesitation, the proverbial “Good Samaritan.†Of course, many “ordinary†people do heroic things. Many times, they are never known or recognized by others (and many times that's by choice). Lenny Skutnik probably would have preferred it that way, too, but his heroic rescue was caught on camera that day, and he became an instant household name because of it. Less than two weeks later, Skutnik was invited to attend the State of the Union Address, where he and his wife sat in the President’s box next to First Lady Nancy Reagan. During the forty minute speech, which was President Reagan's first State of the Union address, Reagan made Skutnik’s act of heroism a centerpiece of his message to the American people:
http://andspeakingofwhich.blogspot.com/2013/07/lenny-skutnik-hero-of-potomac.html
