Multiple fatalities have been reported after a horrific incident involving American Airlines flight 5342 and a U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter over

The UH-60 Black Hawk is the helicopter involved in a crash with a passenger jet on Wednesday night near Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth calls the deadly aircraft collision involving a Black Hawk and a civilian airliner "a tragedy" in a statement obtained exclusively by Fox News.

The trials mark the first time one of the new GE Aerospace T901 Improved Turbine Engines has been powered up inside a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk as part of a US Army plan to overhaul its fleet of the iconic utility helicopters.

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.

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.

A passenger plane carrying 64 people has collided midair with a military helicopter while landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, DC. The PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 jet collided with a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter at around 9pm on Wednesday (02:00 GMT Thursday), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said.

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.

The American Airlines jet was carrying 60 passengers and four crew members when it collided with Black Hawk Army helicopter built by Connecticut's Sikorsky.

Investigators in the US have located the black boxes from the American Airlines jet that crashed into a US Army helicopter near Washington, DC, killing all 67 people on board.