Army withholds the name of Black Hawk Helicopter Crew in DC Crash, 2 Other Identified: NPR

The army has identified two of the three soldiers killed in Wednesday’s crash outside a busy Washington, DC Airport. The three-person crew was aboard a black Hawk helicopter that collided with an American Airlines passenger jet with 64 people.

The identified soldiers are staff sgt. Ryan Austin O’Hara, 28, from Lilburn, GA and Chief Warrant Officer Andrew Loyd Eaves, 39, from Great Mills, Md.

The third crew member of the helicopter was a female pilot with a 500 -hour flight experience, according to a US official who was not authorized to talk publicly about the investigation. The army withholds the pilot’s name on the request of her family.

The withdrawal of a name in case like this is a very unusual step. The identity of the third crew member has already drawn intense control online.

Incorrect information on social media mistakenly claims she was a transgender pilot from Virginia National Guard named Jo Ellis. Ellis has sent a “Proof of Life” video on Facebook, condemned the rumors and offered compassion to those killed in the crash.

The Illinois Democrat Senator Tammy Duckworth, even a decorated former Black Hawk pilot, told NPR that she understood why the family refused to publish their beloved name.

“We should respect the family’s wishes at a time when they have suffered an incredible loss,” Duckworth said. “I think it’s a perfect legitimate request that the family would come up with. And I’m glad the army honors this request.”

Duckworth condemned online speculation about the third member of the crew and especially President Trump’s patterns that the army crew was blamed or was affected by diversity, justice and inclusion (DEI) hiring.

“Each of the troops that were in that plane served their place there, and they are the most trained military aviators in the world,” Duckworth said. “And I’m just sick of my stomach that we would have a president who would say such things about the heroic men and women earning every single day”

Despite President Trump, who said the pilots of the army helicopter were responsible for the crash, defense secretary Pete Hegeth said the crew was “quite experienced” and performed a “required annual night evaluation, they had night vision golls.”

Questions about the path of helicopter and mission

However, there are many unanswered questions about the flight pattern in the black HAWK helicopter and the exact nature of the training exercise it was at the time of the crash.

“Initial indications suggest that this may have been a check -in or periodic evaluation of an experienced instructor pilot of a less experienced pilot,” said Brad Bowman, a military analyst at Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a former Black Hawk Pilot.

“A check -in, unlike a normal training flight, creates some unique dynamics in the cockpit. In a check -in, the less experienced pilot can be nervous and eager to not respond to different developments,” Bowman explained. “Sometimes an instructor pilot will test the less experienced aviator to see how they react, but such a technique would have been unusual and unhappy in this place considering the reduced margin for errors.”

Defense officials who were not authorized to speak publicly said NPR said the instructor pilot, now believed to be Chief Warrant Officer Eaves, had 1,000 hours of flight time considered experienced. Co-pilot, whose name is detained, had 500 hours, which is considered normal.

Officials also tell NPR that the black HAWK should fly a maximum of 200 feet, although the sources say it will fly at least 100 feet higher. All requested anonymity in view of the study’s sensitivity.

Thursday National Transportation Safety Board says that Restored what is often called “black boxes” from the plane – Cockpit voice and Flight data recorders. Federal security sub -subsequently believes that the black HAWK helicopter also had its own admission units, which they hope will help give more clues to the cause of the crash.