
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Provides Update on Black Hawk Helicopter Involved in Midair Collision — Says It Has “Fairly Experienced Crew”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth provided an update on the devastating midair collision that occurred last night in Washington, D.C., between a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and a civilian airliner.
The crash, which resulted in a tragic loss of life, is under urgent investigation by military officials.
At approximately 8:48 p.m., a UH-60 Black Hawk assigned to the U.S. Army Aviation Brigade at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, collided with the civilian aircraft.
The Army unit involved was identified as Bravo Company, 12th Aviation Battalion, based at Fort Belvoir.
The Black Hawk’s crew was operating under night vision conditions, and the purpose of the flight was to maintain required operational proficiency.
Secretary Hegseth highlighted the experience of the crew involved, though details on their identities remain withheld pending next-of-kin notifications.
“It was an annual proficiency training flight,” said Hegseth in a video statement.
“When we look at the crew, and not all can have been notified, so we’re going to withhold the ranks and names at this point. We do know on our side who was involved.
He added, “It was a fairly experienced crew that was doing a required annual night evaluation. They did have night vision goggles.”
In response to the tragedy, the Army’s Health Aviation Battalion has been granted a 48-hour operational pause on contingency missions as officials review what happened.