Defense Sec. Hegseth on Plane Crash: ‘We Are Actively Investigating to Find Out What Happened and Why’

EXCERPT:

HEGSETH: “We anticipate that the investigation will quickly be able to determine whether the aircraft was in the corridor and at the right altitude at the time of the incident. As I mentioned, next-of-kin notifications are ongoing. It's a tragedy, a horrible loss of life for those 64 souls on that civilian airliner and, of course, the three soldiers in that Black Hawk. They're in our prayers, their families and their communities as people are notified, I can't imagine. And I know it's -- it's gone from a rescue mission to a recovery mission, and we're with all the first responders that are moving actively too. So at the Defense Department, our thoughts and prayers go out. We are actively investigating to find out what happened and why.”