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).

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

An Army Black Hawk helicopter collided midair with an American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas, at Reagan National Airport on Wednesday.

A jet carrying 60 passengers and four crew members collided Wednesday with an Army helicopter while landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington

A jet carrying 60 passengers and four crew members collided Wednesday with an Army helicopter while landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, prompting a large search-and-rescue operation in the nearby Potomac River.

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

An American Airlines plane and an Army helicopter collided Wednesday night near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

We’ve been pretty plain about our [safety] concerns, but it isn’t a good time to speculate right now,’ Senator Tim Kaine said Thursday

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.

The plane collided with a helicopter just before it was scheduled to land. This is a developing story and will be updated.

A multi-agency search and rescue operation is underway in the Potomac River after a small American Airlines aircraft collided with an Army helicopter near Reagan National Airport, authorities confirmed.

Questions remain over the mid-air collision between a jet, which was carrying 64 people, including the crew, and a military helicopter carrying three soldiers