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.

Given the variety and flexibility of the Black Hawk, dozens of nations have imported one variant or another for their own armed forces.

A 3-D model created by The Times visualizes the helicopter pilots’ field of view minutes before a fatal crash with a jet in Washington.