The pilot of the US Army Black Hawk helicopter involved in a crash with a commercial plane above Washington DC has been identified as Jo Ellis, a transgender woman.
This is false. A video statement confirms that this person is alive, and was not involved in the crash.
False claims are being widely shared online that the pilot of the Black Hawk helicopter involved in a fatal crash with an aeroplane above Washington DC was a trans woman named Jo Ellis.
This person was not in the crash. A US Army pilot, Capt Rebecca Lobach, has been confirmed to have died on board the helicopter.
All 67 people on board the American Airlines passenger plane and the US army helicopter were killed in the collision on 29 January above the Potomac River. So far, 55 bodies have been recovered, including three from the Black Hawk helicopter.
It is not yet known what caused the crash, which occurred as the plane was travelling from Wichita, Kansas to Washington DC, and while the military helicopter was conducting an “annual proficiency training flight” at night, according to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Investigators have recovered the ‘black box’ flight recorders from both aircraft, and an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is underway.
Todd Inman, NTSB board member and spokesperson for the investigation, has confirmed the organisation intends to have a preliminary report compiled within 30 days.
But claims that are circulating widely on social media platforms, including X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Threads and Instagram, that the pilot of the helicopter was a trans woman called Jo Ellis, are false.
The posts often include pictures of a person with blonde hair, and one in which she is wearing a military uniform.
Jo Ellis posted a video ‘proof of life’ statement to her Facebook page on 31 January, confirming she is alive and was not involved in the Washington DC air disaster.
She confirmed she is a Black Hawk helicopter pilot with Virginia Army National Guard, adding: “I understand some people have associated me with the crash in DC and that is false.
“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 and I hope that you all know that I am alive and well and this should be sufficient to end all the rumours…
“The Department of Defense is responsible for casualty notifications. There were no Virginia National Guard personnel on that Black Hawk that collided with the jetliner Wednesday evening.”
The crew of the Black Hawk helicopter included two male soldiers, named as Staff Sgt. Ryan O’Hara and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Eaves, as well as the female pilot, Capt Lobach.
It’s important to consider whether what you are seeing on social media is verifiable and trustworthy, especially during unfolding crisis events.
This article is part of our work fact checking potentially false pictures, videos and stories on Facebook. You can read more about this—and find out how to report Facebook content—here. For the purposes of that scheme, we’ve rated this claim as false because the person being named as the transgender pilot of the crashed Black Hawk helicopter has confirmed they are alive, and have no connection to the disaster.
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