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Gerald Ford stumbled like Joe Biden in 1975 — and got roasted for it

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president ford trips

President Biden’s wince-inducing series of stumbles while boarding Air Force One on Friday calls to mind Gerald Ford’s 1975 fall on the same stairs — a minor tumble that forever tarred him as a clumsy oaf.

Chevy Chase pilloried Ford in a series of ruthless and hilarious “Saturday Night Live” skits — even though the object of his ridicule was just 62 years old, and an ex-University of Michigan football star who avidly skied and golfed.

But Ford’s caught-on-camera stumble down the rain-slicked steps of Air Force One in Austria — plus a Biden-esque trip while climbing up the same set of stairs in Michigan soon afterward — was all Chase needed to crown Ford the Klutz-in-Chief.

As a bumbling Ford, Chase’s ham-handed handling of the Resolute Desk telephone and his lurching pratfalls continued week after week — to the point where the president decided he needed to clap back.

At a Radio and Television Correspondents’ Association dinner later in 1975, Ford was climbing to the podium to speak when he sneakily yanked the edge of the tablecloth where Chase was sitting — sending tableware flying the comedian’s way.

Ford made sure to look back over his shoulder in mock surprise.

“I’m Gerald Ford, and you’re not,” he deadpanned to Chase after inviting the comedian to perform at a White House dinner in March 1976, stealing the show as the audience burst into applause and laughter.

Other presidents — and would-be presidents — have survived their own trips and falls relatively unscathed.

In 2011, Hillary Clinton, then President Barack Obama’s secretary of state, fell as she boarded a plane leaving Yemen .

“You know, those things happen,” she shrugged later.

Gerald Ford's infamous fall in 1975 was mocked on "Saturday Night Live."

Then-presidential candidate Bob Dole fell off a stage while campaigning in 1996. President George H.W. Bush fell while bowling in Milwaukee during the 1992 campaign. And his son, President George W. Bush, famously fell off a Segway in Kennebunkport, Maine, in 2003.

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president ford trips

Top 10 Embarrassing Diplomatic Moments

Japanese Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa's bizarre, disoriented appearance at a news conference sparked his resignation, but many leaders before him got by unscathed after rather questionable behavior. Here's a looks at some embarrassing leadership moments from around the world

Ford Takes a Fall

President Gerald Ford had a particularly amusing knee injury; apparently, it made him fall down. Or at least, that's what he claimed. While visiting Austria in 1975, the President's bum knee gave way and he tumbled down the Air Force One stairs. A few more falls (one was even up the stairs) combined with Chevy Chase's Saturday Night Live pratfall routine , earned the former University of Michigan football star a reputation as a bumbling klutz. Well, at least it's better than no reputation at all.

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Office of the Historian

  • Department History
  • Presidential and Secretaries Travels Abroad

Gerald R. Ford

40th Anniversary of Gerald R. Ford's Swearing in as President

#11 – First Presidential Visit to Japan

November 17, 1974.

First Presidential Visit to Japan

Watch CBS News

Ford's Clumsiness

By Patrick Kiker

December 31, 2006 / 8:51 AM EST / CBS

Weekly commentary by CBS Evening News chief Washington correspondent and Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer .

Yet, after he took a tumble or two on the ski slopes and then slipped one rainy day and fell headlong down the stairs coming off Air Force One, he developed the reputation for clumsiness. The joke was Vice President Rockefeller was just a banana peel from the presidency.

It was completely unfair but partly my fault, because I wrote a lot of those stories, but as someone said, "What are you gonna do, if the president takes a header? Keep it a secret?"

The stories were great sight gags, but during the 1976 campaign I learned the hard way that the gods have a way of getting even with those who tell the same joke too many times.

When Mr. Ford stumbled, missed the door and bumped his head after a speech from the rear platform of a train in Kalamazoo, Mich., I filed the obligatory story.

I thought it was hilarious but afterward, as I rushed to catch a plane for the next campaign stop, it didn't seem quite so funny. As I was boarding the plane someone hollered at me and, momentarily distracted, I walked head-on into the overhead luggage rack, brained myself and for an instant saw stars and passed out.

I wasn't really hurt but the next time I saw the president, it seemed only fair to tell him about it. He laughed out loud and said, "By God, I just wish I could have been there to see it."

I think he meant it, too.

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Biden says he got ‘sandbagged’ after he tripped and fell onstage at Air Force graduation

President Joe Biden fell on stage at the U.S. Air Force Academy graduation on Thursday. The White House says Biden is “fine” after he tripped over a sandbag. (June 1)

president ford trips

Donald Trump reacted to President Joe Biden’s fall at the Air Force Academy, telling a crowd in Iowa, ‘I hope he wasn’t hurt.’ Trump also recounted his own experience with a near fall on a slippery ramp following a 2020 speech at West Point. (June 1)

president ford trips

President Joe Biden on Thursday thanked U.S. Air Force Academy graduates for choosing “service over self” but said they now have the “great privilege” of leading in a world that will only get more confusing in the years to come. His appearance was punctuated by a stumble onstage after handing out diplomas to graduates. (June 1)

President Joe Biden falls on stage during the 2023 United States Air Force Academy Graduation Ceremony at Falcon Stadium, Thursday, June 1, 2023, at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

President Joe Biden falls on stage during the 2023 United States Air Force Academy Graduation Ceremony at Falcon Stadium, Thursday, June 1, 2023, at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

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President Joe Biden points to sandbags after falling on stage during the 2023 United States Air Force Academy Graduation Ceremony at Falcon Stadium, Thursday, June 1, 2023, at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

A cadet shakes hands with President Joe Biden after receiving his diploma during the United States Air Force Academy graduation ceremony, Thursday, June 1, 2023, at Air force Academy, Colo. (AP Photo/John Leyba)

A Cadet receives her diploma as she salutes President Joe Biden during the United States Air Force Academy graduation ceremony Thursday, June 1, 2023, at Air force Academy, Colo. (AP Photo/John Leyba)

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — President Joe Biden quipped that he got “sandbagged” Thursday after he tripped and fell — but was uninjured — while onstage at the U.S. Air Force Academy graduation .

Biden had been greeting the graduates in Colorado Springs, Colorado, at the front of the stage with salutes and handshakes, and turned to jog back toward his seat when he fell. He was helped up by an Air Force officer as well as two members of his U.S. Secret Service detail.

Onlookers, including some members of the official delegation onstage, watched in concern before Biden, who at age 80 is the oldest president in U.S. history, returned to his seat to view the end of the ceremony.

“I got sandbagged,” the president told reporters with a smile when he arrived back at the White House on Thursday evening before pretending to jog into the residence. Two small black sandbags had been onstage supporting the teleprompter used by Biden and other speakers at the graduation.

“He’s fine,” White House communications director Ben LaBolt tweeted after the incident. “There was a sandbag on stage while he was shaking hands.”

FILE - President Barack Obama, flanked by Vice President Joe Biden, left, and former President Bill Clinton, right, pose for a photo with the U.S. World Cup soccer team under the North Portico of the White House in Washington, May 27, 2010. President Joe Biden will share a stage with Barack Obama and Bill Clinton on Thursday in New York as he raises money for his reelection campaign. It's a one-of-a-kind political extravaganza that will showcase decades of Democratic leadership. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

Biden has been dogged by questions about his age and his fitness to serve, and his missteps have become fodder for political rivals as he campaigns for a second term in 2024. He has stumbled before going up the stairs and onto Air Force One and he once got caught up in his bike pedals while stopping to talk to reporters near his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

Biden’s personal doctor said after the president’s most recent physical exam in February that Biden “remains a healthy, vigorous 80-year-old male, who is fit to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency.” Dr. Kevin O’Connor also documented the president’s stiffened gait, which O’Connor said was the result of spinal arthritis, a previously broken foot and neuropathy in the Biden’s feet.

Biden is far from the first national political figure to stumble in public.

President Gerald Ford fell down while walking off Air Force One in 1975. GOP Sen. Bob Dole of Kansas, the GOP presidential nominee at the time, fell off the stage at a campaign rally in 1996. President Barack Obama tripped walking up the stairs to a stage at a 2012 event. “I was so fired up, I missed a stair” he told the crowd.

President Donald Trump’s gingerly walk down a ramp at the 2020 West Point commencement also sparked concerns about his health.

Trump, 76, was campaigning in Iowa when he heard about Biden’s stumble and alluded to his own episode.

“He actually fell down? Well I hope he wasn’t hurt,” Trump said after an audience member told him about what had happened to Biden. “The whole thing is crazy. You gotta be careful about that ... ‘cause you don’t want that, even if you have to tiptoe down a ramp.”

The audience laughed as Trump recounted slowly inching his way down what he said had been a slippery ramp at the U.S. Military Academy graduation.

“If he fell, it’s too bad,” the former president said. “We gotta just get this thing back on track. That’s a bad place to fall when you’re making, I think it was the Air Force Academy, right? That’s not inspiring.”

Meanwhile, GOP presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis used the opportunity to take a political shot at Biden while at a campaign event in New Hampshire.

“We hope and wish Joe Biden a swift recovery from any injuries he may have sustained,” he said, “but we also wish the United States of America a swift recovery from the injuries it has sustained because of Joe Biden and his policies.”

president ford trips

1976 Presidential Election

Timeline: the campaign trail.

This timeline charts Gerald Ford's path in the 1976 election, from competing for the Republican nomination in the primaries to his fight against Jimmy Carter in the general election. Follow along to learn more about the key moments in his campaign.

Campaign Stop: Dearborn

president ford trips

President Ford kicks off his primary campaign with remarks to the Midwest Republican Leadership Conference in Dearborn, MI.

New Hampshire

Campaign Stop: Concord

president ford trips

President Ford greets PFC Campaign Workers in Concord, NH.

Campaign Stop: Orlando

president ford trips

President Ford greeted by Girl Scouts in Orlando, FL.

Campaign Stops: Orlando, St. Petersburg

president ford trips

President Ford addresses a crowd in St. Petersburg, FL.

Campaign Stops: Keene, Portsmouth, Dover

president ford trips

President and Mrs. Ford eat ice cream in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

New Hampshire Primary

ballot box illustration

Delegates: Ford - 12 / Reagan - 11

  Key State - Details

Campaign Stops: Miami Beach, Daytona Beach, Briny Breezes, Delray Beach, Deerfield Beach, Hillsboro, Coral Springs, Sarasota, Boca Raton

president ford trips

President Ford, Rep. J. Herbert, and Girl Scouts in Boca Raton, FL.

Campaign Stop: Tampa

president ford trips

President Ford meets well-wishers in Tampa during his second campaign trip to Florida.

The New Hampshire Primary

New Hampshire hosted the nation's first primary. Here, President Ford would seek his first votes outside of his Michigan congressional district. He entered the contest trailing Reagan in polls among Republicans and unable to raise his public approval rating above fifty percent. Many shared Stu Spencer's assessment that "if the President lost New Hampshire, it was over with."

Spencer would run Ford's ground game in the Granite State, where he struggled against unforced errors such as Press Secretary Ron Nessen's repeating to the New Hampshire press Ford's private remarks about the state's "icy" ski slopes, interpreted by locals as a "slur" against a key industry. Perhaps more serious was former President Nixon's announcement early in February that he would return to China on the fourth anniversary of his landmark 1972 visit. "He knew it wasn’t helpful to Ford," Spencer later said about Nixon inserting himself again into national headlines.

Still, Spencer, who knew Reagan well, intended to make the former Governor, not the President, the issue in New Hampshire. So, the Ford campaign hammered away at Reagan's plan to shift billions of dollars from the federal budget to the states. "I want to know how much this would cost the people of New Hampshire," Spencer told his researchers. Spencer's goal was to put Reagan on the defensive, "to get him out of rhythm," and it worked.

Also helpful was the Ford family. Susan took to the ski slopes. Mrs. Ford visited nursing homes and hospitals in city after city. The President talked freely with the press and university students. Reagan, confident of victory, left days before the election. The President and his team stayed, campaigning through the weekend and manning phone banks through election day on February 24.

As the vote count was tallied, Reagan led late into the night. Only in the last hours of the counting did Ford move ahead and hang on for a narrow but vital win. "We started out as the underdog, which is really the only thing that saved us in New Hampshire," Richard Cheney remembered. President Ford showed he could come from behind and win the support of a state not named Michigan. His campaign operation remained a work-in-progress, but it had narrowly avoided catastrophe.

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Moscow Summit: Preaching to the Unconverted; A Mighty Russian Pulpit for Reagan

By Steven V. Roberts, Special To the New York Times

  • May 31, 1988

Moscow Summit: Preaching to the Unconverted; A Mighty Russian Pulpit for Reagan

President Reagan came to Moscow determined to press the human rights issue and encourage greater change in Soviet life. But it is clear that if he pushes too hard, he runs the risk of embarrassing Mikhail S. Gorbachev and thus slowing the very transformations he wants to encourage. Nevertheless, White

House aides say the President, on his first trip to Moscow, clearly thinks of himself as a missionary, spreading the gospel of Western-style democracy at a time when he has special access to the Soviet people through televised accounts of his visit. Also, he is addressing his remarks about human rights not just to the Soviet leader but to constituents at home as well.

At a formal dinner at the Kremlin tonight, Mr. Gorbachev gave a clear signal of the potential problems Mr. Reagan - perhaps inadvertently - is causing for the Soviet leader's efforts to change his sometimes reluctant nation. Mr. Gorbachev said his country wanted the widest possible contacts, but added pointedly that he did not like ''sermonizing.'' Hitting a Balance

''You try to hit the right notes,'' one senior White House official said today. ''But you know it's going to be very difficult to hit a perfect balance.''

Western diplomats here point out that Mr. Gorbachev faces a delicate moment as he prepares for an extraordinary national conference of the Communist Party next month that he hopes will ratify many of his plans for political and economic change.

By repeatedly bringing up human rights, Western diplomats say, Mr. Reagan is creating a situation in which any Gorbachev concessions on human rights will be open to suggestions that they were caused by Mr. Reagan's high-visibility campaign. The Soviet leader, seeking to consolidate his support in advance of the party meeting, does not want to open himself to the charge from domestic critics that he is giving in to pressure from the Americans.

Several dissidents invited to a meeting with Mr. Reagan here today were threatened by Soviet officials last week, and today Gennadi I. Gerasimov, the Soviet Foreign Ministry spokesman, derided the dissidents as ''not the best of the Soviet public.'' A President's Wish

But the risk of damaging what he is working for has not deterred Mr. Reagan from forcefully raising the human rights issue at every opportunity.

Mr. Reagan has long wanted this opportunity. Earlier in his Administration, when the chances for any meeting with a Soviet leader seemed remote, Mr. Reagan often said that if he could get his Soviet counterpart alone in a room, they could resolve many of their countries' outstanding problems.

This missionary quality to Mr. Reagan's journey helps explain his emphasis on human rights issues during his first two days here, even in the face of obvious Soviet displeasure.

But the President is also under pressure from his conservative constituents as well as from organized groups, both in the United States and in Europe, to make such values as freedom of religion and emigration a basic part of American foreign policy. The Other Audience

As Mr. Reagan has said, many individual Americans, who trace their roots to Eastern Europe, and often left this region as political or religious refugees, will not let the President forget the issue. When he speaks in Moscow, he is also addressing an audience back home.

The President has tempered his criticisms with considerable praise for recent changes in Soviet life. He wants the Russians to know that he appreciates the advances they have made so far, but he also wants to ''keep the pressure on'' and encourage even greater reforms, noted Marlin Fitzwater, his chief spokesman.

''If you don't talk about the problems, if you pull back too far, you send the wrong signals,'' a White House official said.

In a way, Mr. Gorbachev's policy of glasnost, or increased openness, seems to have encouraged Mr. Reagan to criticize Soviet policies more directly. The President frequently mentions that he and the Soviet leader can speak frankly and yet remain friends. 'Moment of Hope'

Today, at the meeting with dissidents, he said that he was preaching his sermon here because he believes this is a ''moment of hope''for the Soviet people.

Mr. Reagan is not a man, his aides concede, with a particularly complex philosophy or sophisticated foreign policy. He believes very firmly in a few simple principles, and his missionary work for human rights and the American way taps into his most basic values.

He is not a regular church-goer, but he has spent much of his adult life lauding the virtues of a system that leaves others free to worship as they please.

Lately, he has also argued that human rights are necessary for economic growth. And he is trying to satisfy his conservative supporters by saying that if Washington improves relations with Moscow, Moscow will become more like Washington.

''As long as Soviet society remains off limits to the rest of the world,'' Mr. Reagan told the Soviet magazine Ogonyok, ''inhibiting the free flow of information and restricting travel in and out of the U.S.S.R., your economy will be limited in its ability to be part of the world economy.'' Children of Eastern Europe

The President has been rather frank in conceding the importance of political pressure in his human rights policy. In an interview for Soviet television taped last week, the President pointed out that one in eight Americans has origins in Eastern Europe, and that ''those people can rise up and oppose'' any Soviet-American agreements if they feel ''the country of their ancestry'' is being mistreated.

There is yet another side to Mr. Reagan's emphasis on human rights. Both countries had hoped to cap the Moscow summit meeting with the signing of a treaty reducing long-range strategic weapons. When that pact could not be completed in time, human rights expanded to fill the vacuum.

Above all, Mr. Reagan is a master political showman, with impeccable timing. He knows that he might never again have so much access to Soviet TV, and he came here determined to make the most of it.

All of his events outside the Kremlin - visiting a monastery, meeting dissidents, eating lunch at a writers' club and speaking at a university - are designed to reinforce the words of his message with visual images. For Mr. Reagan, the supreme television evangelist, Moscow is one of the greatest pulpits of his career.

  • International

March 26, 2024 - Baltimore Key Bridge collapses after ship collision

By Helen Regan , Kathleen Magramo , Antoinette Radford, Alisha Ebrahimji , Maureen Chowdhury , Rachel Ramirez , Elise Hammond , Aditi Sangal , Tori B. Powell , Piper Hudspeth Blackburn and Kathleen Magramo , CNN

Our live coverage of the Baltimore bridge collapse has moved here .

Crew member on DALI said everyone on board was safe hours after bridge collapse, official says

From CNN’s Amy Simonson

A crew member on the DALI cargo ship sent a message hours after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed Tuesday saying everybody on board was safe, according to Apostleship of the Sea director Andy Middleton.

Middleton, who spent time with the captain of the DALI Monday, told CNN’s Laura Coates he reached out to a crew member after hearing about the incident Tuesday morning. 

He said there were 22 members aboard the ship from India who were setting sail earlier Tuesday morning and were heading toward Sri Lanka.

“I was able to reach out to a crew member very early this morning around 5:30 (a.m. ET) or 6 (a.m. ET) and get a message to them asking if they were OK,” he said. “That crew member responded within just a few minutes advising that the crew was safe, and everybody that [was] on board was safe.”

Middleton was told by the ship's captain Monday that the vessel was going to take a longer route to avoid risks along the Yemen coast.

“When I was out with the captain yesterday, we were talking while we were driving, and he advised that they were sailing down and around the tip of South Africa in order to avoid the incidents that are going on off the Yemen coast, and it was a safer way to go,” he said.

Middleton said the  Apostleship of the Sea  is a ministry to seafarers with members that spend time in the port and on the vessels as a friendly face to the seafarers that visit the Port of Baltimore, “taking care of their needs to make sure that they're reminded of their God-given human dignity when they're here in Baltimore.”

Search operation ends in "heartbreaking conclusion," Maryland governor says. Here's the latest

From CNN staff

The Dali container vessel after striking the Francis Scott Key Bridge that collapsed into the Patapsco River in Baltimore, Maryland, on Tuesday, March 26.

Six people, who were believed to be part of a road construction crew, are presumed dead after Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed early Tuesday morning. The collapse came after a 984-foot cargo ship hit the bridge's pillar.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore told reporters Tuesday evening it's a "really heartbreaking conclusion to a challenging day."

Late Tuesday, it was discovered that two of the construction workers who went missing after the bridge collapsed were from Guatemala , the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said late Tuesday.

Here's what you should know to get up to speed:

  • The victims: Eight people were on the bridge  when it fell, according to officials. At least two people were rescued — one was taken to the hospital and was later  discharged , fire official and the medical center said.
  • The incident: Video shows the moment the entire bridge structure falls into the water, as the ship hits one of the bridge's pillars. CNN analysis shows that the  ships lights flickered  and it veered off course before it hit the bridge. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said the crew on the ship were able to issue a "mayday" before colliding into the bridge, which allowed the authorities to stop incoming traffic from going onto the bridge.
  • Response efforts: Earlier, dive teams from various state and local agencies were brought in to assist in search-and-rescue operations, according to Maryland State Police Secretary Col. Roland L. Butler Jr.. The mission started with 50 personnel and continued to grow before the Coast Guard announced Tuesday evening that it was suspending its active search-and-rescue operation and transitioning to a "different phase."
  • The investigation: Authorities are still working to establish exactly how the crash occurred. The National Transportation Safety Board will look into  how the bridge was built  and investigate the structure itself. It will "take time to dig through" whether the bridge had ever been  flagged for any safety deficiencies , NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said.
  • Rebuilding the bridge: US Sen. Chris Van Hollen said the path to rebuilding the bridge will be "long and expensive." Senior White House adviser Tom Perez told reporters Tuesday “it’s too early” to tell how long it will take to rebuild the bridge. President Joe Biden said Tuesday he wants the federal government to bear the full cost of rebuilding the collapsed bridge, noting that it will not wait for the company who owns the container ship DALI to shoulder the costs. Funding could come from the Federal Highway Administration as well as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, but it may require additional funding from Congress.

2 of the missing construction workers from bridge collapse were from Guatemala, foreign ministry says

From CNN’s Allison Gordon, Flora Charner and Amy Simonson

Two of the construction workers missing from the bridge collapse in Baltimore were from Guatemala, the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement late Tuesday.

Those missing included a 26-year-old originally from San Luis, Petén. The other is a 35-year-old from Camotán, Chiquimula, the statement said.

The ministry said both were part of a work team “repairing the asphalt on the bridge at the time of the accident.”

The statement did not name the two people missing, but it said the country’s consul general in Maryland “went to the area where the families of those affected are located,” where he hopes to be able to meet with the brothers of both missing people.

The consulate   also issued a statement Tuesday saying its consul general in Maryland "remains in contact with local authorities," and also confirmed that two of those missing "were of Guatemalan origin.”

Six people, who were believed to be part of a road construction crew, are presumed dead after Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed early Tuesday morning when a cargo ship hit the bridge's pillar.

State and federal officials have not released information about the identities of any of the six missing workers.

Underwater mapping of bridge collapse area to begin Wednesday, Baltimore fire chief says

From CNN's Jennifer Henderson

Search operations near the Key Bridge collapse have shut down for the night due to dangerous conditions, but the process of underwater mapping with many local, state and federal dive teams will begin Wednesday, Baltimore City Fire Chief James Wallace told CNN’s Anderson Cooper Tuesday night.

Wallace said the portion of the Patapsco River is “tidal influenced, so it goes through tide cycles just like the open waters of the Chesapeake Bay does.”

The water depths in the area under the bridge vary from 40 feet to more than 60 feet, Wallace said. The deeper the divers go, the colder the temperatures they encounter, and the visibility is zero, he added.

 Wallace said when crews arrived Tuesday morning, the surface water temperatures of the Patapsco River were about 47 degrees with an air temperature of 44-45 degrees.

Here's what you should know about the historic Francis Scott Key Bridge

The Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed early Tuesday after a massive container ship lost power and crashed into the iconic Baltimore bridge, sending people and vehicles into the frigid Patapsco River.

Six people, believed to be part of a road construction crew, are presumed dead and the Coast Guard has ended its active search and rescue mission.

Here's what you should know about the historic bridge:

  • How old?: The Francis Scott Key Bridge, also referred to as just the Key Bridge, opened to traffic in March 1977 and is the final link in the Baltimore Beltway, according to the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA.) It crosses over the 50-foot-deep Patapsco River, where former US attorney Francis Scott Key found inspiration to write the lyrics to the Star Spangled Banner, the MDTA says.
  • How long?: The bridge was 1.6 miles long when standing, MDTA reports.
  • Traffic volume: More than 30,000 people commuted daily on the bridge, according to Maryland Gov. Wes Moore.
  • How much did it cost?: The bridge cost $60.3 million to build, MDTA says. Since its collapse, President Joe Biden said he’s committed to helping rebuild the bridge as soon as possible.
  • About the port: Baltimore ranks as the ninth biggest US port for international cargo. It handled a record 52.3 million tons, valued at $80.8 billion, in 2023. According to the Maryland state government, the port supports 15,330 direct jobs and 139,180 jobs in related services.
  • About the ship: The bridge collapsed after a container vessel called Dali collided with one of its supports. Dali is operated by Singapore-based Synergy Group but had been chartered to carry cargo by Danish shipping giant Maersk . The ship is about 984 feet long , according to MarineTraffic data. That’s the length of almost three football fields.

Baltimore woman says bridge collapse was "like a piece of family dissolved"

From CNN's Kit Maher

For longtime Baltimore resident, Ceely, who opted not to share her last name, seeing footage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse  Tuesday was deeply personal.

“I was very heavy-hearted,” Ceely told CNN. “Very tearful, thinking about the families whose loved ones may be in the water and just remembering when the bridge was constructed, and it was just like a piece of family dissolved.”

Ceely was at a prayer group Tuesday morning when she saw the news. She recalled being afraid when she first crossed the bridge while in Ford Maverick in 1975, but grew to like it because it saved time on the road.

“It was a main artery just like a blood line. It was a main artery to the other side of town. It was awesome. It beat going through the city all the time,” she said.

Elder Rashad A. Singletary , a senior pastor who led Tuesday night’s vigil at Mt. Olive Baptist Church told CNN that many church members watched the bridge's construction.

"It’s a part of the community. A lot of our individuals in our congregation drive that bridge to go to work, and so now it’s really a life changing moment,” he said.

"Heartbreaking conclusion to a challenging day," Maryland governor says as Coast Guard ended search operation

From CNN's Aditi Sangal

People look out toward the Francis Scott Key Bridge following its collapse in Baltimore, Maryland on March 26.

More than 18 hours after the collapse of the Baltimore bridge, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said it was a heartbreaking conclusion after the Coast Guard ended the search-and-rescue operation for the six people who were on the bridge when it collapsed.

It's a "really heartbreaking conclusion to a challenging day," he said.

"We put every single asset possible — air, land and sea" to find the missing people, he told reporters on Tuesday evening. "While even though we're moving on now to a recovery mission, we're still fully committed to making sure that we're going to use every single asset to now bring a sense of closure to the families," the governor added.

6 people presumed dead after Baltimore bridge collapse, Coast Guard says. Here's what we know

As the sun sets in Baltimore, six people are presumed dead after a major bridge collapsed overnight Tuesday, according to the Coast Guard. The Francis Scott Key Bridge came down around 1:30 a.m. ET after a cargo ship collided with it.

The Coast Guard said it has ended its active search-and-rescue operation for the missing construction workers who were on the bridge when it collapsed.

  • What we know: Eight people were on the bridge when it fell, according to officials. At least two people were rescued — one was taken to the hospital and has been discharged . The Coast Guard has been searching for six other people. But, around 7:30 p.m. ET, the Coast Guard said it has transitioned to a “different phase” of operation, now it did “not believe we are going to find any of these individuals alive,” Rear Adm. Shannon Gilreath said.
  • About the ship: The bridge collapsed after a container vessel called Dali collided with one of its supports. The vessel is operated by Singapore-based Synergy Group but had been chartered to carry cargo by Danish shipping giant Maersk . The US Embassy in Singapore has been in contact with the country’s Maritime and Port Authority, a State Department spokesperson said.
  • The investigation: The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation into the collapse. A team of 24 experts will dig into nautical operations, vessel operations, safety history records, owners, operators, company policy and any safety management systems or programs, said NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy. A voyage data recorder will be critical to the investigation, she added. 
  • Vehicles on the bridge: Officials are also working to verify the numbers of how many cars and people were on the bridge, Homendy said. Gov. Wes Moore said the quick work of authorities in closing the bridge had saved lives . Radio traffic captured how authorities stopped traffic and worked to clear the bridge seconds before the impact . Maryland State Police Secretary Col. Roland L. Butler Jr. said there is a “ distinct possibility ” more vehicles were on the bridge, but authorities have not found any evidence to support that.
  • Looking ahead: NTSB will look into how the bridge was built and investigate the structure itself, including if it was flagged for any safety deficiencies , Homendy said. The federal government has also directed its resources to help with search and rescue, to reopen the port and rebuild the bridge, Vice President Kamala Harris said . Earlier, President Joe Biden said t he federal government will pay to fix the bridge.
  • The economy: Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg warned the collapse will have a serious impact on supply chains . Until the channel is reopened, ships will likely already be changing course for other East Coast ports. Ocean carriers are already being diverted from the Port of Baltimore, where the bridge collapsed, to the Port of Virginia to “keep trade moving."

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COMMENTS

  1. President Gerald Ford Trips And Falls

    President Fords historic trip and fall down the steps of Air Force One.

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    November 23-24, 1974. France. Martinique. Met with President Giscard d'Estaing. December 14-16, 1974. Belgium. Brussels. Attended NATO summit meeting, addressed the North Atlantic Council, and met separately with NATO Heads of State and Government. May 28-31, 1975.

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