What to know about the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter involved in D.C. crash
A U.S. Department of Defense photo shows an Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter during a training flight at Katterbach Army Airfield in Ansbach, Germany, in 2018. Credit: EPA-EFE Shutterstock / Charles Rosemond
For many, the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, like the one involved in the Wednesday collision over the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., is familiar for one reason: the 2001 movie "Black Hawk Down," based on the 1993 shooting down of U.S. Black Hawk helicopters during the Battle of Mogadishu in Somalia.
But the official U.S. Army website and Lockheed Martin, which has owned Sikorsky since 2015, said the current UH/HH-60M Black Hawk helicopter is a far more capable and sophisticated design, one used in joint forces operations and able to "execute missions 24 hours a day under all-weather conditions." The newest versions have "multiple upgrades over its predecessors including multi-mission capabilities" and a new airframe that includes "advanced digital avionics and a powerful new propulsion system."
While investigators have yet to determine how the Black Hawk crew ended up on a collision course with the Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet being operated by American Airlines subsidiary PSA Airlines and carrying 60 passengers and a crew of four, here is what is known about the helicopter itself:
According to specifications available from the Army and Lockheed Martin, more than 5,000 Black Hawk variants have been produced since the helicopter was introduced in 1974 and the U.S. Army currently has about 1,978 in its active inventory.
The Black Hawk is used by scores of nations worldwide, including Australia, Brazil, Japan, the Philippines, Taiwan and Turkey.
The choppers have a fuselage length of 50-feet, 1 inch, are 7 feet, 9 inches wide and are powered by two General Electric t700-GE-701 C/D turboshaft engines that run the nearly 54-foot diameter main rotor blade and the smaller rear rotor.
The Black Hawk can be outfitted with myriad weapons, among them two 7.62 mm M240 machine guns, two M134 miniguns or two 12.7 mm GAU-19 Gatling guns in addition to external-mounted rockets, missiles, bombs and other weapons systems.
The Black Hawk has a top speed of about 183 mph, a combat range of 370 miles and an operational service ceiling of 19,000 feet — though usual mission characteristics have it operate in many low-level circumstances. The Black Hawk can carry 11 seated troops or six stretchers.
The main cabin crew usually consists of two pilots and two crew chiefs who also serve as gunners — though the Army said the Black Hawk involved in the collision Wednesday night had total crew of three aboard. Everyone on both aircraft is believed to have died.
For many, the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, like the one involved in the Wednesday collision over the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., is familiar for one reason: the 2001 movie "Black Hawk Down," based on the 1993 shooting down of U.S. Black Hawk helicopters during the Battle of Mogadishu in Somalia.
But the official U.S. Army website and Lockheed Martin, which has owned Sikorsky since 2015, said the current UH/HH-60M Black Hawk helicopter is a far more capable and sophisticated design, one used in joint forces operations and able to "execute missions 24 hours a day under all-weather conditions." The newest versions have "multiple upgrades over its predecessors including multi-mission capabilities" and a new airframe that includes "advanced digital avionics and a powerful new propulsion system."
While investigators have yet to determine how the Black Hawk crew ended up on a collision course with the Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet being operated by American Airlines subsidiary PSA Airlines and carrying 60 passengers and a crew of four, here is what is known about the helicopter itself:
According to specifications available from the Army and Lockheed Martin, more than 5,000 Black Hawk variants have been produced since the helicopter was introduced in 1974 and the U.S. Army currently has about 1,978 in its active inventory.
The Black Hawk is used by scores of nations worldwide, including Australia, Brazil, Japan, the Philippines, Taiwan and Turkey.
The choppers have a fuselage length of 50-feet, 1 inch, are 7 feet, 9 inches wide and are powered by two General Electric t700-GE-701 C/D turboshaft engines that run the nearly 54-foot diameter main rotor blade and the smaller rear rotor.
The Black Hawk can be outfitted with myriad weapons, among them two 7.62 mm M240 machine guns, two M134 miniguns or two 12.7 mm GAU-19 Gatling guns in addition to external-mounted rockets, missiles, bombs and other weapons systems.
The Black Hawk has a top speed of about 183 mph, a combat range of 370 miles and an operational service ceiling of 19,000 feet — though usual mission characteristics have it operate in many low-level circumstances. The Black Hawk can carry 11 seated troops or six stretchers.
The main cabin crew usually consists of two pilots and two crew chiefs who also serve as gunners — though the Army said the Black Hawk involved in the collision Wednesday night had total crew of three aboard. Everyone on both aircraft is believed to have died.
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