Crashed Black Hawk chopper was tasked to save US officials during ‘doomsday’

At least 67 people were killed when an American Airlines jet collided with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday and crashed into the Potomac River.

The Black Hawk helicopter which collided with an American airlines Bombardier CRJ700 passenger plane, was on a training flight to a military mission to evacuate senior officials in case there was an attack on the United States, Reuters reported.

First responders salute as two ambulances carrying the flag draped bodies of service members killed in a midair collision depart a temporary emergency disaster site at Buzzard Point on January 31, 2025 in Washington, DC.(Getty Images via AFP)

According to the report, the military mission known as "continuity of government" and "continuity of operations," is meant to preserve the ability of the US administration to operate.

The crews transport VIPs around Washington DC, buzzing with chopper traffic.

US defence secretary Pete Hegseth said that the crew members on board the Black Hawk were on a "routine, annual re-training of night flights on a standard corridor for a continuity of government mission."

At least 67 people were killed when an American Airlines regional passenger jet collided with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday and crashed into the frigid Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

The three soldiers killed in the collision were part of the 12th Aviation Battalion at Fort Belvoir in Virginia, whose responsibilities in a national crisis include evacuating Pentagon officials, Reuters reported.

Army under scrutiny for night operations near busy airport

The Black Hawk crew, using night vision goggles, flew the training mission along the Potomac River on a path known as Route 4.

As the Army comes under scrutiny for operating at night near a busy airport, officials have pointed to the battalion's sensitive operations.

"Some of their mission is to support the Department of Defense if something really bad happens in this area, and we need to move our senior leaders," Jonathan Koziol, the chief of staff of the Army's Aviation Directorate, told Reuters.

The most recent time the US government activated a continuity of operations mission in an emergency was on September 11, 2001, when al Qaeda hijackers slammed airplanes into the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon, killing almost 3,000 people.

(With Reuters inputs)