Three U.S. Army soldiers were onboard a BlackHawk helicopter that collided with a passenger jet near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, U.S. officials said on Wednesday.

Everyone aboard an American Airlines jet carrying 60 passengers and four crew members that collided with an Army helicopter was feared dead in what was likely to be the worst U.S. aviation disaster in almost a quarter century,

The crew of the Army Black Hawk helicopter involved in the deadly collision with a jetliner had thousands of hours of flight experience.