The UH-60 Black Hawk with the 12th Aviation Battalion was on a training flight when it hit an American Airlines plane with 64 onboard.

Three U.S. Army soldiers were onboard a BlackHawk helicopter that collided with a passenger jet near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, U.S. officials said on Wednesday.

Investigators are beginning to explore how an American Airlines jet and Black Hawk Army helicopter collided over Reagan Washington National Airport.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Retired U.S. Army Col. Larry Connell knows the kinds of challenges that pilots of Black Hawk helicopters can face. He told Target 12 he was shocked to learn a crew flying had collided with a regional jet carrying 64 people headed towards Reagan National Airport on Wednesday night.

By The A jet with 60 passengers and four crew members aboard collided Wednesday with an Army helicopter while landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, prompting

We are now at the point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation,” the DC fire chief said.

The crew of the Army Black Hawk helicopter involved in the deadly collision with a jetliner had thousands of hours of flight experience.

Families and friends of those who lost loved ones in the deadly American Airlines and Army helicopter collision are sharing tributes online in memory of the crash victims.