NEW YORK (WABC) -- Several flights in the New York area were canceled Thursday morning after a plane and helicopter collided in D.C. Wednesday night.
The regional American Airlines passenger jet and a Black Hawk military helicopter collided in the nation's first major commercial airline crash since 2009.
Raegan Airport in D.C. reopened at 11 a.m. Thursday and American Airlines' first flight from Reagan to LaGuardia landed around 1:30 p.m. All of American's previous flights for the day were canceled.
Some of the passengers on that flight to LaGuardia has to spend the night in a hotel after the crash.
"Yeah, I was at the airport yesterday waiting to board around 9 and then all of a sudden all this commotion," witness Patricia Nguyen said. "All of a sudden, in no time you turn around and there were like lights everywhere. So everybody Googled what was happening and everybody was very patient."
What would normally have been a routine 1 hour and 15 minute commuter flight was anything but after the deadly collision over the Potomac River.
"It was emotional because I live in southwest D.C. so literally my window is overlooking where they're bringing the remains of the victims, so where I was, I was literally looking at fire trucks all night," said witness Mark Madrid.
As operations resumed again at Reagan, the mood of the airport was mournful and somber.
"It was quiet, I got to the airport really early, expecting a lot of crowds and confusion, got through really quick," said traveler Robert Cigliano. "It was very quiet. The plane was very quiet. The airport was very quiet."
There have been some near collisions in New York air space in the last couple years.
In January 2023, at JFK International Airport, a report by the NTSB said interruptions, distractions, and multitasking led to a near collision between an American Airlines flight and a Delta Airlines flight about to take off.
Then in March of 2024, at LaGuardia Airport, a Southwest Airlines flight veered off course and came extremely close to the control tower during a landing attempt.
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