DCA is one of the most demanding airports in the world. It also has what’s known as ‘helicopter alley’ with hundreds of police, military, news and rescue helicopters criss-crossing

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

Leaders across the D.C., Maryland, and Virginia region, as well as federal lawmakers, are reacting to the tragic American Airlines plane crash near DCA.

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.

An airplane collided with a helicopter while trying to land at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday night, officials said.

By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A small aircraft crashed in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport late Wednesday, and fire boats were on the scene, the Washington fire department said.

Officials say an aircraft went down near Ronald Reagan National Airport, and all takeoffs and landings have been halted.

First responders are searching the Potomac River after an aircraft collided with a military helicopter mid-air Wednesday night near Washington D.C. According to the FAA, a PSA Airlines jet collided in the air with a military helicopter while headed towards Runway 33 at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

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

An NTSB-led investigation is in full swing to identify factors that led to the Jan. 29 midair collision between an American Eagle Bombardier CRJ-700 operated by PSA Airlines on approach to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) and a U.S. Army Sikorsky UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter.