Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth calls the deadly aircraft collision involving a Black Hawk and a civilian airliner "a tragedy" in a statement obtained exclusively by Fox News.

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

There were three soldiers aboard the Sikorsky H-60 Army Black Hawk helicopter that collided with an American Airlines flight carrying 64 people outside Washington, D.C., on Wednesday night. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Black Hawk was on a "routine" training flight at the time.