“It is the American airport,” said Rep. Norma Torres (D-Calif.), who said Reagan National isn’t just the most convenient airport for lawmakers. “It’s the place where citizens all over the country come to lobby their members of Congress, their US senators on issues of extreme importance to them.”

According to Flight Aware, nine flights that were scheduled between Reagan National and Detroit Metro were canceled. No flights out of Flint were affected.

While speaking to the local reporters, the US National Transportation Safety Board said that the recorders are the key component of determining the final moments and the circumstances that led to the

The midair collision over the Potomac River on Wednesday brings back chilling memories of another tragedy in the same waters more than four decades ago—when Air Florida Flight 90, bound for Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport,

The deadly mid-air collision over Washington, D.C., has reignited concerns over air traffic congestion and safety risks at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, a tightly packed aviation hub that shares airspace with military and government flights.

The collision between an American Airlines Group Inc. regional jet and a military helicopter near Ronald Reagan airport in Washington left no survivors on board the two aircraft, authorities said.

If changes aren't made, that near-miss becomes a mid-air collision,” one aviation safety expert said. “Unfortunately, that's what we had last night.”

DCA Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport has shut down and The Federal Aviation Authority has confirmed a American Airlines Flight operated by PSA Airlines collided mid-air with a Blackhawk Sikor

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).

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.

On Tuesday, a day before Wednesday’s fatal collision, a Republic Airways jet from Windsor Locks, Conn., was minutes away from landing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport before it aborted its landing to avoid a helicopter in its way.