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.

The Black Hawk helicopter has been in service since 1979, but what makes it so special, that 36 countries use it? Here's everything you need to know.

The military helicopter UH-60 'Black Hawk' and the American Airlines regional jet Bombardier CRJ700 that collided over Washington are aircraft commonly used worldwide. The plane was carrying 60 passengers and four crew members,

The UH-60 Black Hawk is the helicopter involved in a crash with a passenger jet on Wednesday night near Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C.

The Army helicopter and regional American Airlines jet that collided over Washington are both workhorse aircraft that operate around the world on a daily basis.

A new technology for autonomously operating aircraft dubbed “MATRIX” is drawing scrutiny across social media after a commercial airliner collided with a military helicopter in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday.

The military helicopter that collided with a regional jet near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, in a crash that killed all 67 people aboard both aircraft, was a UH-60 Black Hawk, considered the “workhorse” of U.

Here are images of the two aircraft involved in the crash, taken from airline websites and directly manufacturers.

A Black Hawk helicopter can transport up to "12 fully equipped, seated troops in combat," according to Lockheed Martin, the weapons company that builds the helicopter. There are about 5,000 of these helicopters in use by the United States Military.

For the latest updates on victim recovery efforts, please read USA TODAY's live coverage of the plane crash investigation on Friday, Jan. 31. WASHINGTON - The National Transportation Safety Board confirmed to USA TODAY on Thursday evening that investigators recovered the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder from the Bombardier CRJ700 airplane that collided in midair with an Army helicopter,

U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter collided with American Eagle Flight 5342 on final approach to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport over the Potomac.

A Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter of the US Army was involved in the mid-air collision with an American Airlines plane