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.

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.

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