The collision between a passenger flight and a U.S. Army helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday night has put Virginia lawmakers at the center of the response efforts.
On Thursday morning, two members of the Virginia delegation foreshadowed a conversation they’ll be having after initial investigations into the crash conclude: the traffic flying over their state, D.C. and Maryland.
“We have raised this issue continuously. We’ve got very busy airspace,” Sen. Mark Warner said when asked at a press conference about past concerns regarding flight traffic on Thursday morning. “I think we will ask questions at the appropriate time, but we’re in this period right now where families are still being notified. We’re trying to figure out what happened. There’ll be time for those discussions.”
Sen. Tim Kaine also did not comment much beyond to say that “we’ve been pretty plain about our concerns.”
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“It’s not a time to speculate,” Kaine said earlier in the press conference. “It’s a time to investigate and get answers to the questions we need, and I have confidence that will be done.”
In a statement to NOTUS, Virginia Rep. Gerry Connolly, who represents a nearby district, was anxious to move those discussions along.
“My colleagues and I in the DC region have long had serious concerns about air traffic congestion, both military and commercial, in the airspace around DCA,” Connolly said. “As this investigation continues, those concerns must be addressed. Safety must always be our top priority.”
Republican Rep. Rob Wittman said in a statement to NOTUS he has long been concerned that “adding more daily flights would further strain operations as the airport’s physical constraints limit its ability to safely handle increased traffic.”
And Democrat Rep. Jennifer McClellan also emphasized the delegation’s past advocacy.
“We know that congestion in our airspace is a problem, especially over DCA, and we’ve known this for a long time,” McClellan said in a statement to NOTUS.
Officials believe nearly 70 people died in the collision between an American Airlines flight and the Army helicopter, which collided over the Potomac River. Rescue and response efforts involving local, state and federal agencies continued overnight — the National Transportation Safety Board will take the lead in investigating.
The plane was approaching the airport, known as DCA, located in Virginia on about 860 acres of land, and the cause is still unclear.
But DCA has been the subject of much attention from the Virginia delegation, which in recent years has tried to block additional flight traffic in and out of DCA, arguing that it would compromise safety.
“At its current level of activity, National already experiences an above average number of missed approaches and early turnouts because of weather, high demand, airfield layout, and runway length,” regional Democratic lawmakers wrote in one 2023 letter to the leadership of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure opposing additional traffic through DCA.
When Congress passed the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill in 2024, it was over the opposition of Virginia lawmakers, including Kaine and Warner, who said DCA was already “the busiest runway in America.”
In making their case, they pointed to a near-miss in March 2023 between Southwest and JetBlue planes at Reagan National Airport.
“As the local representative, I want the families to know that our office is available to serve you in any way we possibly can through this time of grief and transition and loss,” Rep. Don Beyer said on Thursday.
He added that after the NTSB investigation, “We’ve got to make sure that at the federal level — and with the support of Virginia, Maryland and D.C. — we’re doing everything we can to make sure that this doesn’t happen again.”
Several Virginia lawmakers put out statements overnight saying they were closely monitoring the situation. In addition to DCA, which is an American Airlines hub and popular transportation hub for lawmakers given its proximity to the U.S. Capitol, Virginia is also home to Dulles International Airport.
“The City is committed to offering ongoing support and resources to those impacted, both in the immediate aftermath and in the long term,” Alexandria Mayor Alyia Gaskins said in a statement. “The City of Alexandria will continue our coordination with federal, state, and local agencies to provide accurate and timely information as it becomes available.”
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Amelia Benavides-Colón is a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated with additional reporting.
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