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CV NEWS FEED // Warnings of collision risk at the Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), due to increasing flights and the large presence of local military aircraft, date back to as early as 2006, according to records reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
More than 700 planes had left DCA Jan. 29 before the catastrophic crash occurred between a Black Hawk and an American Airlines flight that was in its final descent, according to a Jan. 30 report from the Journal. Sixty-seven people are presumed dead from the crash.
The Journal reported that the tragedy has spotlighted the concern voiced by a number of professionals over the years about the rising number of flights authorized at DCA by Congress and the many helicopters in the area.
According to one record reviewed by the Journal, a pilot in 2006 voiced opposition to the presence of military aircraft so close to the DC-based airport.
“Why does the tower allow such nonsense by the military in such a critical area?” the pilot wrote, according to the Journal. “This is a safety issue, and needs to be fixed.”
Another pilot, in 2013, nearly collided with a helicopter and subsequently filed a report with the Aviation Safety Reporting System, according to the Journal.
“I cannot imagine what business is so pressing that these helicopters are allowed to cross the path of airliners carrying hundreds of people!” the pilot wrote at the time. “What would normally be alarming at any other airport in the country has become commonplace at DCA.”
Between 2017 and 2019, there were 88,000 helicopter flights, approximately 37% of which were military, within 50 miles of DCA, the Journal reported.
Last year, Congress authorized for more flights to be added coming out of DCA. Some lawmakers, however, have previously spoken out against increases in flights. According to the Journal, in April 2024, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Virginia, told his colleagues that the airport “is already overburdened and can’t handle extra planes.”
