The collision between a passenger flight and an Army helicopter near Washington, D.C., on Jan. 29 marks the first fatal disaster involving a U.S. commercial airliner in 16 years.

US airlines had gone 16 years without a fatal crash until Wednesday night. But as impressive as that safety record had been, ...

The impact of a plane crash near the nation’s capital was obvious to some passengers who arrived at KCI Thursday from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) Thursday.