Voting Station

Lenny Skutnik

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Hero

The Resume

    (1953- )
    Resided in Lorton, Maryland
    Support staffer at the Congressional Budget Office
    Rescued stewardess from drowning (January 13, 1982)
    Subject of 'Nightline' (January 13, 1982)
    Mentioned in Ronald Reagan's State of the Union (January 1982)

Why he might be annoying:

    He refused to go to the ambulance until he was assured he was not going to be charged for it.
    He looked like Don Mattingly.
    His name rhymes with the first artificial satellite, Sputnik.
    Neither he or his wife graduated college.

Why he might not be annoying:

    Air Florida flight 90 crashed into the 14th Street Bridge and the crew and passengers were thrown into the icy/frozen Potomic River (January 13, 1982).
    He was part of a crowd of onlookers watching as a 32 year old stewardess failed at several attempts to grasp hold of a lifeline dropped from a rescue helicopter.
    He realized that if he did not do anything the woman would surely die, so he went into action without thought of his own personal safety.
    He took off his winter coat and jumped into the icy Potomic and swam towards her and brought her to shore.
    He was portrayed by Robert Factor in 'Flight 90: Disaster on the Potomac.'
    He reluctantly appeared on 'Nightline,' until the reporter told him that if he did not come back with her, she would lose her job.
    Susan Mercandetti of 'Nightline' reflected: 'He (Skutnik) does this very tearful interview (with Washington Post) about how he didn't want to be a hero, he didn't want to do an interview (on 'Nightline'), but he didn't want this poor girl to lose her job because some tyrant producer boss of hers ... It was awful. It was awful, I felt so terrible and I said to her, the secretary, said, 'Why did you say it?' and she said, 'Well, you told me not to come back without him.'
    Ronald Reagan's State of the Union tributes him with: 'Just two weeks ago, in the midst of a terrible tragedy on the Potomac, we saw again the spirit of American heroism at its finest--the heroism of dedicated rescue workers saving crash victims from icy waters. We saw the heroism of one of our young government employees, Lenny Skutnik, who, when he saw a woman lose her grip on the helicopter line, dived into the water and dragged her to safety.'
    In 2004, he told the Washington Post: 'I never did consider myself a hero ... I thought what I did was human instinct. It had nothing to do with 'hero.''

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 7 Votes: 28.57% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 11 Votes: 9.09% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 6 Votes: 16.67% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 8 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 727 Votes: 49.79% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 16 Votes: 31.25% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 270 Votes: 54.07% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 9 Votes: 88.89% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 318 Votes: 60.69% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 21 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 34 Votes: 38.24% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 57 Votes: 36.84% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 15 Votes: 26.67% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 318 Votes: 61.01% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 1631 Votes: 35.32% Annoying
    In 2008, Out of 68 Votes: 32.35% Annoying
    In 2007, Out of 132 Votes: 46.21% Annoying
    In 2006, Out of 243 Votes: 39.92% Annoying
    In 2005, Out of 480 Votes: 42.29% Annoying