Last year, senators from Virginia and Maryland sounded the alarm over congestion in the skies above Washington.

Authorities have switched to a recovery mission in the Potomac River following a midair collision between an American Eagle flight and an Army Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan National Airport in Washington,

Multiple 911 callers reported the crash near the river just before 8:55 p.m., according to the Metropolitan Police Department and the District of Columbia Fire and EMS.

Before the additional flights were approved, a senator warned that the increase could heighten the risk of collisions.

The local airport authority noted that pilots described Washington-National as one of the most challenging in the US.

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

The plane, American Eagle Flight No. 5342, a regional jetliner, was carrying 60 passengers and four crew members on a flight from Wichita, Kansas. There were three soldiers aboard the U.S. Army’s Sikorsky H-60, a Defense Department official told CBS News.

Clues emerging from the moments before an Army helicopter collided with a passenger jet suggest breakdowns in the system meant to help aircraft land safely at the busy Reagan National Airport.

There were 64 passengers aboard the plane, and three Army soldiers in the helicopter, according to officials. Here's a look at what we know about the victims.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said late on Thursday he will soon announce a plan to reform the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) after a devastating collision between an American Airlines regional plane and an Army helicopter killed 67 people.

The Federal Aviation Administration’s website boasts that the U.S. has the world's toughest qualifications for airline pilots.