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.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday that “there was some sort of elevation issue” with the Army Black Hawk helicopter that collided in mid-air with a passenger airliner Wednesday night over the Potomac River that is now being investigated.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

American Airlines Flight 5342 from Wichita, Kansas, was attempting to land when the plane and a Black Hawk helicopter collided.

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 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 Army Black Hawk helicopter that collided with an American Airlines commuter plane near Reagan Washington National Airport in Virginia Wednesday was on a “training flight” when it crashed into the Potomac River, according to the military service branch.

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