An airspace cluttered with passenger planes and military aircraft. A history of near-crashes. And a growing shortage of air traffic controllers available to manage it all. Some experts, politicians and airport managers have been warning for years of the risks posed by the crowded airspace and volume of flights at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA).

An American Airlines plane carrying 60 passengers and four crew members collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter outside Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C. Wednesday evening. Three soldiers were onboard the helicopter and a massive search and rescue operation is now unfolding in the Potomac River.

U.S. authorities said on Thursday it was not yet clear why a regional jet crashed into a U.S. Army helicopter at a Washington airport, killing 67 people in the deadliest U.S. air disaster in more than 20 years.

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) services both military helicopters and passenger planes every day.

Deadly mid-air collision over Washington, D.C., reignites concerns over air traffic congestion and safety risks at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport

Multiple fatalities have been reported after a horrific incident involving American Airlines flight 5342 and a U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter over

Lawmakers have expressed concerns about congestion in at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport amid a constricted space.

An Army Black Hawk helicopter collided with a regional American Airlines flight that was on approach to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport near Washington, D.C. on Wednesday night.

An Army Black Hawk helicopter collided midair with an American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas, at Reagan National Airport on Wednesday.

A regional jet that had departed from Wichita, Kansas, crashed into a Black Hawk while on approach to Ronald Reagan National Airport.

On January 29, 2025, a midair collision between an American Airlines regional jet and a military Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan Washington National Airport led to the suspension of all flights. Emergency personnel quickly responded to the scene as rescuers scoured the Potomac River for survivors.