Transgender pilot Jo Ellis breaks silence on false rumors linking her to Black Hawk helicopter crash
Jo Ellis, a transgender U.S. Army Black Hawk pilot, has addressed false rumors circulating on social media that she was one of the pilots involved in a deadly mid-air collision between an American Airlines flight and a military helicopter near Washington, D.C. on Wednesday evening.
The crash tragically resulted in the deaths of 67 people—60 passengers and four crew members aboard the American Eagle flight, and three soldiers onboard the Black Hawk helicopter.
The collision occurred as American Eagle Flight 5342, a regional jet traveling from Wichita, Kansas, collided with the Black Hawk, which was on a routine training mission. The impact caused both aircrafts to plummet into the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Recovery operations continued into Thursday, with at least 40 bodies recovered, though many victims remain unidentified.
While authorities have not yet released the names of the soldiers aboard the Black Hawk, social media users wrongly speculated that Jo Ellis was among the victims. Ellis, a pilot with the Virginia Army National Guard, quickly refuted these claims.
On Friday morning, Ellis took to Facebook to address the misinformation. "Some craziness has happened on the internet, and I'm being named as one of the pilots of the DC crash," she wrote. "Please report any accounts or posts you see. It's insulting to the victims and families of those lost, and they deserve better than this BS from the bots and trolls of the internet."
In addition to her post, Ellis shared a video with the caption "Proof of life and statement." In the video, she clarified that she had no connection to the crash. "This is Jo Ellis. I am a Black Hawk pilot with the Virginia Army National Guard. I understand some people have associated me with the crash in D.C., and that is false," she said. "It is insulting to the families to try to tie this to some sort of political agenda. They don't deserve that. I don't deserve this." She also explained that the Department of Defense handles casualty notifications and confirmed that no Virginia National Guard personnel were involved in the Black Hawk collision.
The speculation surrounding Ellis's involvement in the crash gained traction partly due to her history of making anti-Trump statements on social media. President Donald Trump weighed in on the tragedy, raising questions about the role of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in federal hiring. He suggested, without evidence, that lower hiring standards for air traffic controllers during the Obama and Biden administrations may have contributed to the crash. Trump's comments sparked further political debate, though no direct connection between DEI policies and the crash has been established.
The Black Hawk involved in the collision was a Sikorsky H-60 from the U.S. Army's 12th Aviation Battalion, based at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. The American Eagle flight, operated by PSA Airlines, was en route to Washington, D.C. from Wichita, Kansas. A livestream camera at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. captured the explosion from the crash around 9 p.m. Wednesday evening.
As investigations into the cause of the collision continue, authorities have not yet officially identified the victims aboard the helicopter. However, the false rumors surrounding Ellis have sparked broader conversations about the tragedy and the importance of respecting the victims and their families during such a difficult time.
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