Officials said that an American Airlines regional passenger plane and a U.S. Army Black Hawk chopper crashed into the icy Potomac River on Wednesday night after colliding in midair near Reagan Washington National Airport.

The aircraft involved are listed below:

UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter

The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter is one of America's most iconic and ubiquitous military helicopters. It performs multiple roles, including air assaults, general support, medevacs, command and controls, and special operation support.

According to Aviation Safety Network (a database of aviation accidents), the aircraft involved in the crash on Jan. 29 was flying under the call sign PAT25, and it had three passengers.

Since the production began in mid-1970s, more than 5,000 Black Hawks aircrafts have been produced.

Bombardier CRJ700

Bombardier CRJ700 is a regional aviation workhorse. It can accommodate up to 70 passengers. Cirium, a company that provides aviation data, estimates there are 260 aircraft of this type in service.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the plane that crashed on Jan. 29, 2010 was registered N530EA. It was manufactured in 2010. American Airlines reported that there were 60 passengers on board and four crew members. The aircraft was registered with American Airlines, but it was operated by PSA Airlines, a wholly-owned subsidiary of American Airlines.

Bombardier sold its CRJ700 programme to a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' subsidiary in 2019. The production of new aircraft ended in 2020. Reporting by Dan Catchpole & Joe Brock. Gery doyle edited the article.

(source: Reuters)