Ronald Reagan

Reagan National was a perfectly reasonable airport when it opened in 1941. Eighty-five years later, we’ve packed commercial jets, military helicopters, presidential transportation, restricted airspace and national-security missions into the same tiny patch of sky—and the warning signs are getting difficult to ignore. After 67 deaths, an emergency airspace redesign, repeated communications failures and a Marine One separation incident, perhaps the problem isn’t the latest procedure or antenna. Perhaps Washington’s convenience has simply outlived the acceptable risk.