An American Airlines flight crashed into a U.S. Army Black Hawk Helicopter over the Potomac River as it approached Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

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).

An Army Black Hawk helicopter collided with a regional jet near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday evening, U.S. officials confirmed to ABC News.

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.

Another flight arriving at Reagan National Airport was forced to abort landing due to helicopter traffic just 24 hours before the tragic midair crash between a military helicopter, according to a

The crew of the Army Black Hawk helicopter involved in the deadly collision with a jetliner had thousands of hours of flight experience.

A day after the United States witnessed its deadliest aviation disaster in over two decades, a preliminary report from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) suggests the Reagan National Airport control tower — responsible for guiding pilots—was understaffed,

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

The airspace around Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport has long been problematic due to heavy military and commercial flight activity in the nation’s capital, according to industry insiders.

Dozens of people are feared dead after a military helicopter collided with a civilian airliner midair around Washington, D.C.

American Airlines said the jet had 60 passengers and four crew members, while the Pentagon confirmed that three soldiers were aboard the helicopter. There was no immediate word on fatalities.