The crew of a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk that fatally struck a commercial airliner was assigned to a Virginia-based VIP transport unit and was performing an annual night proficiency flight at the time of the incident.

For many, the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, like the one involved in the Wednesday collision over the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., is familiar for one reason: the 2001 movie "Black Hawk Down ," based on the 1993 shooting down of U.S. Black Hawk helicopters during the Battle of Mogadishu in Somalia.

The location where a PSA Airlines MHIRJ CRJ700 struck a US Army Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter on 29 January is a busy flight corridor for military rotorcraft.

A Black Hawk helicopter can transport up to "12 fully equipped, seated troops in combat," according to Lockheed Martin, the weapons company that builds the helicopter. There are about 5,000 of these helicopters in use by the United States Military.

Military spokesman Ron McLendon II said the Army is joining an investigation into the crash headed by the National Transportation Security Board.

A tragic collision between a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines jet near Washington DC has shocked almost everyone.

The Black Hawk is a US Army workhorse helicopter. It has been flying for decades. One tragically collided with a passenger jet this week.

Lights from emergency vehicles are seen at Reagan National Airport in Washington, DC, after an air crash near the Potomac River on Jan. 29, 2025. "I am on site at the FAA HQ and closely monitoring the situation," Duffy wrote. Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly said she is "actively" in contact with authorities regarding the crash.

The Army helicopter and regional American Airlines jet that collided over Washington are both workhorse aircraft that operate around the world on a daily basis. There were 60 passengers and four crew members on the jet,

An Army Black Hawk helicopter collided with a regional jet near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday evening, U.S. officials confirmed to ABC News.

American Airlines Flight 5342 from Wichita, Kansas, was attempting to land when the plane and a Black Hawk helicopter collided.