Lawmakers have an interest in boosting direct flights to their states because Reagan is closer to downtown than Dulles.

Three months before the fatal mid-air collision at Reagan National Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration launched an audit of near-misses at the nation’s busiest airports after a series of close calls that could have killed hundreds of passengers.

Flight operations are expected to resume late Thursday morning at Reagan National Airport (DCA) after a plane and helicopter crash Wednesday night.

The Federal Aviation Administration in a statement said American Airlines Flight 5342, departing from Wichita, Kansas to Washington, collided around 9 p.m. midair while approaching the runway with a Sikorsky H-60 helicopter.

Flights at Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C. were suspended Thursday morning after the collision of an American Airlines jet and a military helicopter Wednesday.

Investigators confirmed they have recovered a cockpit voice recorder and a flight-data recorder from American Eagle Flight 5342, which will undergo analysis.

Divers are expected to return to the Potomac River as part of the recovery and investigation after the United States’ deadliest aviation disaster in almost a quarter century.

An American Airlines regional jet went down in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

Fatal crashes like the one that happened near Washington on Wednesday are increasingly rare because of modern aviation safety procedures.

RICHMOND, Va. ( WWBT /Gray News) - A retired pilot gave a first-hand view of what it’s like to land at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Chuck Smith says he has made that approach and landing hundreds of times in his career. He shared a video showing what it looks like to fly near Washington, D.C., and over the Potomac River.

An Army Black Hawk helicopter collided with a regional jet near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday evening, U.S. officials confirmed to ABC News.