WASHINGTON — The morning after a passenger jet collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday night, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the helicopter was on an annual proficiency training flight. 

The three soldiers were conducting a required annual night evaluation with night vision goggles, Hegseth said in a video posted on social media, adding that the crew was “fairly experienced."

The Defense Department deployed a senior investigative team from its Aviation Safety Center on Wednesday night, Hegseth said. The new defense secretary said he expects the team to quickly determine whether the Black Hawk was traveling in the right air space at the correct altitude.

A spokesperson for Sikorsky Aircraft, the maker of Black Hawk helicopters, told Spectrum News in a statement Thursday, "We are deeply saddened and send our condolences to those that lost loved ones. We have offered our support to the investigation and our customer. Safety is our top priority."

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Thursday morning that both the American Eagle plane and the U.S. Army helicopter were operating in standard flight patterns.

“This was not unusual with a military aircraft flying the river and aircraft landing at DCA,” Duffy said. 

American Eagle is a regional branch of American Airlines.

Officials said they do not believe anyone survived the crash. There were 60 passengers and four crew members abord the commercial flight, American Airlines said.

So far, at least 28 bodies have been recovered from the downed plane and one has been recovered from the helicopter, according to the Washington fire and EMS chief.