Breaking News: Washington DC Plane Crash Claims 18 Lives, Including Members of US Figure Skating Community – Live Updates

On Wednesday night, a regional passenger jet from American Airlines collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter, crashing into the icy waters of the Potomac River near Reagan Washington National Airport.

The helicopter involved was a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk. This military helicopter is well-known for its versatility and is used for various purposes, including air assault, medical evacuation, and support for special operations. Since the mid-1970s, over 5,000 Black Hawks have been produced, highlighting their significance in the U.S. military.

The Black Hawk, operating under the call sign PAT25, had three people on board at the time of the accident, according to the Aviation Safety Network, a trusted source for tracking aviation incidents.

The passenger jet was a Bombardier CRJ700, a regional aircraft that typically seats around 70 passengers. There are about 260 of these planes still in operation today. The specific aircraft in this incident, registered as N530EA, was built in 2010 and had 60 passengers along with four crew members on board. Although it was registered to American Airlines, it was managed by PSA Airlines, a subsidiary of American Airlines. The CRJ700 program was sold to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in 2019, and production of new aircraft ended in 2020.