Concerns linger following crash at Reagan National

When Congress approved the addition of 10 extra daily flights at Ronald Reagan National Airport in Arlington County in 2024, Northern Virginia lawmakers objected, criticizing the move as one that pitted the convenience of lawmakers looking for easy flights home against safety.

Following the Jan. 29 midair collision of an airliner and an Army Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River that killed 67 people, several of the region’s lawmakers — all Democrats — stand by their earlier assessment. They also question why more wasn’t done sooner by the Federal Aviation Administration.

A preliminary report released by the National Transportation Safety Board in March revealed more than 15,000 near-misses between commercial airplanes and helicopters between October 2021 and December 2024 in the congested airspace around the busy airport.

“We all probably would have been raising hell long before the accident if we’d known about that,” says U.S. Rep. Don Beyer, whose district includes the airport.

In March, the FAA permanently restricted helicopters from the January crash route, granting exceptions for presidential, lifesaving and law enforcement use. A complete NTSB report is expected to take at least a year.

U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, who were vocal opponents of flight additions in 2023, said they were happy for the restrictions, while Beyer added that he couldn’t link the addition of flights to the crash. Also in March, U.S. Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, ranking member of the Subcommittee on Military and Foreign Affairs, announced an investigation into the military’s use of airspace around the Washington region. Several people killed in the crash lived in his district, which includes Loudoun County.

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which oversees air travel at Reagan and Washington Dulles International Airport, declined to comment. Congress has added more than 50 flights at Reagan since 2000, which the MWAA has strongly opposed.

Warner and Kaine have also expressed frustration with recent cuts at the FAA by President Donald Trump, citing an existing shortage of thousands of air traffic controllers. According to reports, only one controller was on duty at Reagan during the January crash. Kaine’s guest at Trump’s address to Congress in March was Jason King, an FAA safety division employee fired by Trump.

“I’m really worried about these cuts,” the senator says.