Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that the Pentagon and the US Army have launched an investigation into the catastrophic midair collision between a commercial jet and a military helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday night.

According to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, the Army helicopter was on an "annual proficiency training flight" and the three soldiers on board had night vision goggles.

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

The father of the man piloting an American Airlines jet that collided with an Army helicopter mid-air in Washington, D.C. has spoken out. Sam Lilley, 28, was one of two people piloting the flight from Wichita, Kansas, his father Timothy Lilley told Fox 5 Atlanta. All 67 people on board both aircraft are feared to be dead, officials say.

The Blackhawk that struck an American Airlines flight landing at Reagan airport had three soldiers on board and no VIPs or senior officials were involved.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the Pentagon has begun a probe into the cause of a deadly midair collision between a passenger jet and a military helicopter, looking to understand who was to blame and how the tragedy occurred.

U.S. politicians expressed grief and sympathy on Wednesday night after a passenger plane from Kansas collided with a military helicopter near Reagan National Airport.

An American Airlines regional jet went down in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport after colliding with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter, Wednesday night, prompting a multi-agency search-and-rescue operation, according to officials.

Officials believe there are no survivors after a passenger plane on approach to Reagan National Airport near Washington, DC, collided Wednesday night with a US Army helicopter midair, sending both aircraft into the Potomac River below,

The American Airlines plane operating as American Eagle Flight 5342 collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan National Airport.

An American Airlines regional jet went down in the Potomac River near Washington, D.C.'s Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport after colliding with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday night, with no survivors expected amid the extremely cold and windy conditions.