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.

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).

The staffing at the air control tower at Reagan National Airport was "not normal" when an American Airlines plane and Army helicopter collided on Wednesday night, a report shows.

Airport preferred by Washington lawmakers and lobbyists lies in some of the most congested airspace in the country.

Investigators analyze flight data to understand the crash between an American Airlines jet and a military helicopter and exactly what was going on before disaster struck.

The crash near Reagan National Airport has renewed questions about the airport's flight load, considering its small size, among other issues.

Lawmakers have expressed concerns about congestion in at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport amid a constricted space.

An airplane collided with a helicopter while trying to land at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday night, officials said.

It will be some time before investigators can offer clear answers to the cause of the midair crash at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport but air traffic controller audio and radar reviewed by NPR offer some insight into what happened before.

It will be some time before investigators can offer clear answers to the cause of the midair crash at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport but air traffic controller audio and radar reviewed by NPR offer some insight into what happened before.

On Tuesday, a day before Wednesday’s fatal collision, a Republic Airways jet from Windsor Locks, Conn., was minutes away from landing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport before it aborted its landing to avoid a helicopter in its way.