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Perhaps because the nation saw in this disaster something more than a mechanical failure. Perhaps because people saw in it no failure at all, but rather something successful about themselves. Here, after all, were two forms of nature in collision, the elements and human character. Last Wednesday, the elements, indifferent as ever, brought down Flight 90. And on that same afternoon, human nature—groping and struggling—rose to the occasion.
也许是因为人们不仅仅把这次灾难看成是一次机械故障。也许因为在这次空难中人们根本没有看到任何失败，而是看到了自身品质的某种胜利。毕竟，这是两种自然力量——恶劣的天气与人的品德之间的碰撞。上周三，恶劣的天气与往常一样无情，将90号航班硬生生地从天空中拽到了水中。而还是在同一个下午，人性的力量在摸索、抗争中挺身而出，对抗灾难。
Of the four acknowledged heroes of the event, three are able to account for their behavior. Donald Usher and Eugene Windsor, a park police helicopter team, risked their lives every time they dipped their skids into the water to pick up survivors. On television, side by side, they described their courage as all in the line of duty. Lenny Skutnik, a 28-year-old employee of the Congressional Budget Office, said: "It's something I never thought I would do"—referring to his jumping into the water to drag an injured woman to shore. Skutnik added that "somebody had to go in the water," delivering every hero's line that is no less admirable for being repeated. In fact, nobody had to go into the water. That somebody actually did so is part of the reason this particular tragedy sticks in the mind.
此事件的四位公认的英雄中，有三位能够活下来向人们讲述他们救人的举动。唐纳德·厄舍和尤金·温莎是公园巡警直升机的机组人员，他们数次冒着生命危险将起落架放入水中打捞起幸存者。电视上，他们并排而坐，说他们的勇敢举动完全是职责所在。28岁的伦尼·斯库特尼克是国会预算办公室的一名雇员，谈到他跳入水中将一个受伤的妇女拖上岸时，他说：“我没想到我会那样做。”斯库特尼克还说：“总得有人跳到水中去救人。”这是每个英雄都会说的话，但此话无论重复多少遍，人们也丝毫不减敬佩之情。实际上，没有人必须跳入水中。而有人这样做了，这正是人们久久不能忘怀这次灾难的原因之一。
