Black Hawk helicopter unit that crashed into passenger plane was responsible for doomsday readiness: report

The outlet reported that the mission route the Black Hawk was practicing is called "continuity of government" or "continuity of operations," and is used for the purpose of helping the US government function in the case of a large-scale attack or disaster.

Most of the time, these helicopters are traveling with a VIP government official around Washington. The outlet reported that US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth revealed that the helicopter pilots "were on a routine, annual re-training of night flights on a standard corridor for a continuity of government mission."

"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 reporters.

Very few details of these types of missions are usually discussed publicly, likely for safety purposes in the event of an attack. The helicopter had taken off from the nearby Fort Belvoir, several miles south of the airport down the Potomac River. On the commercial flight, 64 people were on board and three soldiers were aboard the Blackhawk.

As of Friday, there had been 41 bodies pulled from the wreckage in the river. Officials believe there were no survivors and some passengers were still buckled to their seats when they were recovered from the water.

The Black Hawk had reportedly been flying too high and about a half-mile off course when it struck the American Airlines flight. Two of the three helicopter pilots have been identified as Staff Sgt. Ryan Austin O'Hara, 28, as well as Chief Warrant Officer Andrew Loyd Eaves, 39.