ARLINGTON, Virginia Jan 30 (Reuters) - The crash of an

American Airlines ( AAL ) passenger jet and a U.S. Army Black

Hawk helicopter near Reagan Washington National Airport on

Wednesday highlighted issues around the congested airspace

shared by civilian and military aircraft over the U.S. capital.

Military helicopters are a common sight in the Washington

region that is home to numerous military bases.

Over a three-year period ending in 2019, there were 88,000

helicopter flights within 30 miles (48 km) of Reagan National

Airport, including about 33,000 military and 18,000 law

enforcement flights, the Government Accountability Office said

in a 2021 report.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at a press

conference on Thursday that the Federal Aviation Administration

would "take appropriate action if necessary to modify flight

paths" to ensure adequate separation between civilian airplanes

and military helicopters.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said an investigation had

been launched by the Army and Defense Department.

There have been several near-miss incidents at Reagan

National Airport that have sparked alarm, including a

near-collision in May 2024 between an American Airlines ( AAL ) jet and

a small airplane and one in April 2024 between Southwest and

JetBlue airplanes.

A shortage of air traffic controllers has delayed flights

and raised safety concerns across the United States. The FAA in

October opened an audit into runway incursion risks at the 45

busiest U.S. airports after a series of near-miss incidents.

The Washington region has three major airports, but Reagan

National is closest to the capital. Because of the short length

of its runways, over 90% of flights use its main runway, making

it the busiest in the U.S., with over 800 daily takeoffs and

landings.

That effectively means a takeoff or landing every minute

during much of the day. Reagan is the 24th-busiest U.S. airport

by passengers. Congress last year approved five new roundtrip

flights to Washington.

Senator Jerry Moran, who heads a Senate aviation

subcommittee, told Reuters the immediate focus was on trying to

save lives but that after the mission was over, Congress would

investigate what went wrong.

"Then we're going to find out what happened," Moran said.