WASHINGTON, Jan 30 (Reuters) - The three soldiers aboard

the U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter that collided with an

American Airlines ( AAL ) passenger plane on Wednesday were fairly

experienced, had night vision goggles and were carrying out an

annual training mission at the time of the incident, the

Pentagon said on Thursday.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in a video message,

said a special team of investigators were already on the ground

and that he expected answers shortly about whether the

helicopter was flying in its assigned air corridor and at the

right altitude at the time of the collision near Reagan

Washington National Airport.

He confirmed that the Army unit involved was on a 48-hour

operational pause. The pause was first reported by Reuters.