Emergency response units search the crash site of the American Airlines plane on the Potomac River after the plane crashed on approach to Reagan National Airport on January 30, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia.
Andrew Harnik | Getty Images
Rescuers were still retrieving bodies out of the frigid Potomac River on Thursday morning, but the deadliest commercial air disaster in the U.S. since 2001 is bringing long-brewing concerns over congested U.S. airspace into a full-blown crisis.
Just before 9 p.m. ET on Wednesday, an American Airlines regional jetliner collided with a military helicopter near Washington D.C.’s Reagan National Airport. There were no survivors on either the Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet that carried 60 passengers and four crew members or on the Army Black Hawk helicopter that was carrying three, officials said.
A series of close calls at airports in recent years has raised alarms among airlines, regulators and lawmakers. It is not immediately clear what led to the deadly collision on Wednesday. A full investigation could take months if not longer than a year. Officials on Thursday did not fault air traffic for the deadly crash.
In one of the recent incidents that raised concerns, a JetBlue Airways plane that was starting its takeoff roll at Reagan National in April came within a few hundred feet of Southwest Airlines flight, which was told to cross the runway.
Despite those close calls, there has not been a major fatal commercial airplane crash on U.S. soil since February 2009. Wednesday’s crash was the deadliest since November 2001.
“The system is as safe as it has ever been,” Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan said in an interview with CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” on Thursday morning.
Airline executives have pushed consecutive administrations to modernize air traffic control and hire more staffers to help alleviate congestion in some of the busiest corridors in the United States. Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport’s main runway is the busiest in the U.S., according to the area’s airport authority.
“The system has been in need of modernization for literally decades now,” Jordan said. “You’ve got equipment that goes back to the 1960s, and modernizing the equipment actually allows for better management of the airspace, more throughput, so more efficiency.”
Read More: Deadly American Airlines-helicopter collision highlights concerns with crowded U.S.