Reagan airport was at the center of a fierce safety debate last year. Lawmakers approved more flights anyway - ‘We’ve been pretty plain about our [safety] concerns, but it isn’t a good time to speculate right now,

THE deadly American Airlines crash follows a flurry of near-misses and smashes at Washington DC’s Ronald Reagan National Airport – including a 1982 crash that killed 78 people.

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

Senators from Virginia and Maryland said a near-miss at the D.C. airport in April should be a "bright red warning light flashing before Congress."

The plan to add five incoming and five outgoing flights was included in the bipartisan FAA Reauthorization Act last year.

God forbid waking up and looking in a mirror one day and say, ‘Wow, I was warned. I was warned and I shouldn’t have done this,’” Kaine said in 2024.

Political leaders had warned about the dangers of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington, D.C. months before an American Airlines flight collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter on its approach to the airport.

Lawmakers have lobbied to add flights, while pilots have complained about the presence of military and other aircraft.

As the American Eagle Flight 5342, a CRJ jet, approached the helicopter, the tower controller asked the helicopter pilot if he had the CRJ in sight. The helicopter pilot cannot be heard responding to the question before the two aircraft collided.

Lawmakers have an interest in boosting direct flights to their states because Reagan is closer to downtown than Dulles.

WASHINGTON, D.C., USA — A jet with 60 passengers and four crew members aboard collided Wednesday with an Army helicopter while landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, prompting a large search-and-rescue operation in the nearby Potomac River.