Understaffed and overworked air traffic control crews have long been an issue at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, lawmakers say — another potential cause of the midair collision between a commercial jet and military helicopter over the Potomac River that killed 67 people Wednesday night in the nation’s deadliest air crash since 2001.

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 night. A D.C. fire official said Thursday that “we don't think there are any survivors from this accident" and "we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation.

Multiple fatalities have been reported after a horrific incident involving American Airlines flight 5342 and a U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter over