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.
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