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.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) doubled down during an interview on his concerns about the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport space being overcrowded following the fatal collision between a military helicopter and an airline plane that killed 67 people.

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).

On May 29, 2024, an American Airlines Airbus A319, in the early stages of take-off, was forced to brake heavily to avoid a collision at Washington National. The flight, with around 100 passengers and crew onboard, was headed for Boston Logan International (BOS) and had been cleared for take-off.

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

Before the additional flights were approved, a senator warned that the increase could heighten the risk of collisions.

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

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.

Chuck Smith says he has made that approach and landing hundreds of times in his career. He shared a video showing what it looks like to fly near Washington, D.C., and over the Potomac River. He says the airspace is notoriously busy with commercial,

The airspace where a deadly mid-air crash between a passenger plane and a U.S. Army Black Hawk occurred late Wednesday night is one of the most complex and congested in the country. Officials expect no survivors from the crash,

We’ve been pretty plain about our [safety] concerns, but it isn’t a good time to speculate right now,’ Senator Tim Kaine said Thursday

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) doubled down during an interview on his concerns about the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) space being overcrowded following the fatal collision between a