Lawmakers have an interest in boosting direct flights to their states because Reagan is closer to downtown than Dulles.
Three months before the fatal mid-air collision at Reagan National Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration launched an audit of near-misses at the nation’s busiest airports after a series of close calls that could have killed hundreds of passengers.
Flight operations are expected to resume late Thursday morning at Reagan National Airport (DCA) after a plane and helicopter crash Wednesday night.
The Federal Aviation Administration in a statement said American Airlines Flight 5342, departing from Wichita, Kansas to Washington, collided around 9 p.m. midair while approaching the runway with a Sikorsky H-60 helicopter.
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