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Maryland senator says once cause of crash determined, there’s an opportunity to revisit capacity at ‘most congested airport in the country’

In the wake of a deadly collision near Reagan National Airport between a passenger plane and an Army helicopter, two Virginia Congress members said they’ve been voicing concerns over D.C.’s crowded airspace for “many, many years.”

Virginia Sen. Mark Warner told WTOP early Thursday that he and fellow commonwealth Sen. Tim Kaine, “and the whole congressional delegation have raised the fact that we’ve got some of the most crowded airspace in the country.”

He said decisions about the skies over the nation’s capital should be left to the Federal Aviation Administration and pointed out that there are many jurisdictions in the region — and added that it remains unclear whether aircraft congestion led to the collision.

“So let’s let the (National Transportation Safety Board) do their job,” Warner said.

Rep. Don Beyer, who represents Virginia’s 8th Congressional District, echoed Warner’s concerns.

“It is way too busy,” Beyer said. “And I think that’s been the perception of many, many people. I don’t know that busyness was the cause of last night. We don’t want to do cause and effect. It’s a larger picture issue.”

He admitted that he wasn’t sure what changes to call for regarding what are called “slot rules” — a federal regulation established to manage congestion at five high-density airports, including Reagan National.

“Obviously, we’ve been working on perimeter slot rules for a long time, but this may have had nothing to do with perimeter slot,” Beyer said. “It seemed like you had military aircraft and an incoming plane in the exact same airspace at the same time. We don’t know why.”

All 64 people aboard an American Airlines jet that collided with an Army helicopter were feared dead in what was likely to be the worst U.S. aviation disaster in almost a quarter century, officials said Thursday.

At least 28 bodies were pulled from the icy waters of the Potomac River after the midair collision Wednesday night, when the helicopter apparently flew in the path of the jet as it was landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near D.C., officials said.

The midair collission killed all 67 people on board, making it the deadliest U.S. air crash in nearly 24 years.

The body of the plane was found upside-down in three sections in waist-deep water. The wreckage of the helicopter was also found. Donnelly said first responders on Thursday were searching an area of the Potomac River as far south as the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, roughly 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) south of the airport.

Maryland senator there’s an opportunity to revisit capacity at ‘most congested airport in the country’

Nearly a year before Wednesday’s deadly crash between an American Airlines jet and a military helicopter, members of Congress from Maryland and Virginia had vowed to fight the plan to expand the number of flights at Reagan National Airport.

In February 2024, Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen joined members of the Maryland and Virginia Congressional delegations to object to the proposal to add more slots to what they said was an “overburdened” airport.

Asked about the issue on Thursday, Van Hollen told WTOP, “First, we need for the NTSB to get to the bottom of what went wrong in this terrible, tragic collision that we just witnessed.”

“I do hope that as part of the overall review of the situation at Reagan National, they will look at other risks to public safety, including the fact that this airport is the most congested in the country, which is why the Virginia senators and I last year objected to increasing the number of slots,” he added.

Asked about concerns regarding general airport safety and infrastructure, Van Hollen repeated that it’s very early, and that it’s important that the NTSB can “get to the bottom” of what went wrong.

“Clearly, this was an avoidable accident. So I do think that this will remind people on Capitol Hill and elsewhere that our most important priority has to be public safety and the safety of the flying public — that needs to be the top priority as we make decisions. That also includes, of course, making sure that the FAA is adequately staffed,” Van Hollen said.

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Kate Ryan

As a member of the award-winning WTOP News, Kate is focused on state and local government. Her focus has always been on how decisions made in a council chamber or state house affect your house. She's also covered breaking news, education and more.

Will Vitka

William Vitka is a Digital Writer/Editor for WTOP.com. He's been in the news industry for over a decade. Before joining WTOP, he worked for CBS News, Stuff Magazine, The New York Post and wrote a variety of books—about a dozen of them, with more to come.

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