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).

David Freeman caught a flight to International Airport on Thursday from Reagan National Airport after a American Airlines jet collided with a military helicopter over the Potomac River on Wednesday night.

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.

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

An aircraft is down in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, authorities said after a suspected collision late Wednesday. It was not immediately clear if there are fatalities. Video circulating on X appeared to show a midair collision.

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

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.

Rep. Ron Estes (R-Kan.) said Thursday that the deadly plane crash near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday night will “be a tragedy that touches our community.” Estes represents

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that the military has identified the three soldiers killed in the Black Hawk collision over the Potomac River.

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is closed, according to an FAA alert posted Wednesday night. A ground stop will prevent planes from landing at the airport through at least 5 a.m. Thursday morning,

A preliminary report by the Federal Aviation Administration found that staffing at the Ronald Reagan Airport air traffic control tower was “not normal” at the time of the deadly collision between an Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines regional jet.

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