Reagan airport faced warnings over its packed airspace for years. More flights were approved anyway

Months before Wednesday’s deadly aircraft collision in Washington, D.C., lawmakers were engaged in a fierce debate over safety at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

An American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas and an Army helicopter collided above the Potomac River near Reagan National Airport late Wednesday, and officials say all 67 people onboard both aircraft are feared dead. But less than a year ago, several Washington-area lawmakers warned that a bill adding more flights to the airport could pose serious safety concerns.

Last spring, a major aviation bill passed by Congress and signed by then-President Joe Biden added five new daily long-haul flights at Reagan National Airport.

The bill was designed to bolster safety measures, strengthen protections for passengers and airline employees and fund upgrades to US airports and air travel infrastructure, according to CNN. It allocated over $105 billion to the FAA and $738 million to the National Transportation Safety Board for fiscal years 2024 through 2028.

“The proposal flies in the face of known safety concerns and known congestion concerns,” Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat, said of the bill last year.

Senator Tim Kaine and then-Senator Ben Cardin also fought the bill.

“To me, it’s a safety issue,” Cardin said at the time. “There should not be additional slots.”

The Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority also opposed the additions, NBC Washington reports.

Further, the airport is among the busiest in the country and pilots routinely rate it as among the nation's most challenging to handle, according to NBC Washington. Kaine argued last year the airport is “pressed to the gills,” stating it’s handling 25 million passengers a year when it’s only designed for 15 million, according to CNN.

But Kaine, a Democrat from Virginia, warned Thursday morning against speculation about whether these prior safety concerns had any impact on the crash, according to CNN.

“We’ve been pretty plain about our concerns, but it isn’t a good time to speculate right now,” Kaine said Thursday morning. “We have faith that the [National Transportation Safety Board] will provide the answers about this.”

Senator Mark Warner issued a similar warning, per CNN: “We have raised this issue continuously. We’ve got very busy airspace. I think we will ask questions, but at the appropriate time.”

A spokesperson for Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport declined to comment when contacted by The Independent.

Emergency crews switched from rescue to recovery efforts early Thursday.

U.S. Figure Skating confirmed Thursday that several elite skaters were on the flight, heading home from a training camp following the national championships in Wichita, which ended Sunday.

“We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims’ families closely in our hearts, Alex Schauffler, communications director for U.S. Figure Skating, said in a statement to The New York Times.

Skating duo Christinia Carreira and Athony Ponomarenko narrowly avoided being on the flight after flying home from Kansas on Monday and traveling to another competition in Canada, the head of their training school told The Independent.

Russian figure skaters and other Russian citizens were also on the plane, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov told the Times.

International medalist Inna Volyanskaya, who competed for the Soviet Union, was reportedly on board, according to Reuters. Russian-born former world champions Vadim Naumov and Yevgenia Shishkova were also on board. Naumov and Shishkova previously won the pairs figure skating event at the 1994 World Championship.

President Donald Trump spoke about the incident on Thursday morning, seemingly blaming the crash on his Democratic predecessors Barack Obama and Joe Biden. He also, without evidence, attributed the crash to government efforts designed to increase the number of people with disabilities working within the government.