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Ask many of the frequent flyers of Congress, and will tell you that Ronald Reagan National Airport has sent red flags for years.
“For a long time I have been very, very nervous about the congestion in Reagan National,” said Senator Tim Kaine, D-VA.
“The congestion of Air space around Reagan and DC In general, he definitely played a role in this, “said Senator Tim Sheehy, Republican of Mont., A former Fire pilot.” The large number of aircraft in the air is as high as ever. “
“Many airplanes transit through Potomac,” Senator Mark Kelly, D-Ariz, said a former Navy and Astronaut Combat Pilot. “Entering and leaving certain areas. Pentagon. Other military facilities. Reagan right there in that highly trafficked area.”
“Every time I am in Reagan and I see that new doors are built, the terminal becomes bigger, I realize that there will never be another centimeter of track. The skies are quite congested,” said Senator Kevin Cramer, Rn.d . “I often think there is too much activity for this small land plot. And I am sure there will be a reevaluation of all that.”
A Jetblue Airlines Airbus A320 Jet flies beyond the Capitol dome of the US Capitol. As it advances at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Tuesday, May 7, 2024. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, INC through Getty Images)
The worst aerial disaster of the nation in almost a quarter of a century spilled In the Potomac River Just before the Reagan National Airport in Washington on Wednesday night. Sixty -seven people died after American Eagle Flight 5342 of Wichita, Kan., Collided with an army Sikorsky Black Hawk Feet Feet of the track.
Aviation experts say that flying inside and outside Reagan National is one of the most complicated airports in the country. The approach of the north and southern is on the water. The pilots must navigate a narrow corridor on the river, but not fly on the nearby pentagon. That cannot say anything about drilling Washington, Super Protector of DC. The White House and the United States Capitol are clearly visible when airplanes take off to the north.
In addition, the airport is known by the remarkably short tracks. The track on which the American eagle flight tried to land extends a little more than 5,200 feet. A little less than one mile in length.
That is not even the main clue. Standard commercial tracks average around 13,000 feet. The longest track in Reagan National is approximately 7,000 feet. In addition, the three clues cross each other. This configuration is rarely seen in modern airports.
The accident in the air between a military helicopter by American Airlines Jet and Black Hawk, near the Reagan National Airport, near Washington, DC, was seen in the Video Dashcam from the Anacostia-Bolling joint base. (Storyful)
The past spring, there were two incidents in which the planes almost crashed together while crossing their clues.
The clues are some of the most used throughout the American flight system. The airport was designed to drive 14 million passengers annually. But that number increased to 25 million in 2023. The airport accommodates 800 takeoffs and landings every day.
There were efforts to close Reagan National when the Dulles International Airport opened in 1962. Dulles is a monstrosity of a campus. However, it lies almost 30 miles from Washington, DC, proper. The nation’s engines and agitators never gravitated Dulles when it was so easy to fly to the National Reagan, exhaustion, catch a taxi and reach the State Department for a meeting 15 minutes later.
Legislators, aviation, national security officials and Secret service He made serious conversations about the permanent closure of the airport after September 11. It was thought that air traffic inside and outside Reagan National represented too much for the government’s headquarters. Not much would be needed for kidnappers to command a plane and redirect it to Capitol Hill.
After all, a plane crashed into the Pentagon on September 11. The fourth plane, which fell in a field near Shanksville, Penn. – It was finally destined for Capitol.
Emergency workers recover the debris of the Potomac River after the collision of Flight 5342 of American Eagle and a Black Hawk helicopter, as seen from Virginia, on January 30, 2025. (Reuters/Carlos Barria)
That said, the defenders of keeping Reagan National argued that it was almost impossible to kidnap a plane that took off and immediately sent it to the Capitol. It takes time to design a kidnapping. There was simply not enough time to execute such a plan after takeoff.
Even so, the authorities closed Reagan National for more than three weeks after September 11. New security rules were established once the airport reopened. Airplanes could not have more than 156 seats. All passengers were required to sit half an hour before landing. The aerial seafood patrol most of the flights, if not all, inside and outside the airport.
The federals loosen many of these restrictions from a few months to almost four years after September 11. But that did not diminish the security questions of this particular airport.
Victims identified in a DC plane crash that involves Jet American Airlines and military helicopter
However, the defenders of keeping Reagan National had some of the most powerful allies of the Nation: members of Congress.
Legislators keep crazy schedules. In fact, the invention of the plane to Jet contributed to said Bedlam. Legislators have a great demand in their districts or states, and in Capitol Hill. That is, no conferences in Aspen or Halifax, and collection of dazzling funds in New York or San Francisco. Therefore, air trips, along with access to a nearby airport, are essential in the modern Congress.
The importance of aviation is even incorporated into The vernacular of Congress.
Monday or Tuesday are often considered days of “flight.” The camera and the Senate really do not start up late on the day during the first day of the week. Therefore, Monday’s votes may not develop until 5:30 pm et in the Senate and 6:30 in the camera. Depending on whether the camera (and sometimes the Senate) meets on Mondays or Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays are considered days of “escape”. The house could cut the city late in the morning or at noon on an escape day. If the Senate does not work for five days (which has happened a lot this year, but not this week), the last vote often arrives around 2:15 or 2:30 pm. ONE THURSDAY.
Therefore, legislators have a personal interest in keeping Reagan National Operational. Even after September 11.
The re -authorized programs of the Congress for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for five years in 2024. But one of the most controversial problems in the bill was whether Congress should authorize additional daily “spaces” for Reagan National. The new regular flights begin in a few weeks to Las Vegas, San Diego, Seattle, San Antonio and San Francisco. Legislators have blessed an increase of approximately 50 additional “spaces” in Reagan National since the change of the century.
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It is revealing that only four senators opposed the FAA bill last year. The four were the local Washington senators, DC of Washington: former Senator Ben Cardin, D-Md., Which has just retired, along with the sens. Chris van Hollen, D-Md., Mark Warner, D-Va., And Kaine.
The Senate confirmed to the Secretary of Transportation Duffy in a bipartisan vote on Tuesday. Duffy faced a crisis for Wednesday night. For Friday, the new secretary tightened the airspace around Reagan National for helicopters.
But like everything in Washington, the key to Reagan National is about access. It is difficult to find any important airport on the planet located so close to the power levers.
And while the White House, the United States Capitol, the Pentagon, a myriad of federal agencies and lobbying stores in Washington, it is doubtful that Reagan National goes anywhere.
Chris Pandolfo de Fox News contributed to this report.
