Was pilot Jo Ellis, a transgender woman, aboard the Black Hawk helicopter that was involved in a midair collision with an American Airlines plane in Washington, D.C., on January 29, 2025? No, that's not true: She told Lead Stories "I was not involved." There were no survivors after the crash, and Ellis posted a proof of life video on Facebook, days after the incident.
The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on X on January 31, 2025. The post was captioned:
So now that the pilot of the Blackhawk has been identified as Jo Ellis, a transgender woman, can we admit Trump was right about the entire thing, or is it too soon?
This is how the post appeared at the time of writing:
(Source: X screenshot taken on Fri Jan 31 15:45:37 2025 UTC)
Lead Stories reached out to Jo Ellis through Facebook Messenger on January 31, 2025, two days after the fatal collision. She replied via email:
I'm the one being tied to the DC crash and I was not involved. Received your FB message.
Ellis also posted a "proof of life" video on Facebook (archived here) at 9:42 a.m. on January 31, 2025 (embedded below):
Furthermore, Ellis made a post on Facebook (archived here) on January 31, 2025 (pictured below). The post contains a screenshot of a similar false post implicating her in the crash. She wrote:
Some craziness has happened on the internet and I'm being named as one of the pilots of the DC crash. 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.
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Fri Jan 31 15:55:23 2025 UTC)
On January 28, 2025, one day before the collision, Ellis published a column (archived here) on the website of talk radio host Michael Smerconish. In it, she recounted her 15 years of service in the Virginia Army National Guard:
I joined the Virginia Army National Guard in 2009 as a 15G helicopter mechanic. I deployed to Iraq for Operation New Dawn in 2011 and earned the Air Medal for serving as a helicopter door gunner. I served in reserve operations in Guatemala in 2014 for Operation Beyond the Horizon, deployed to Kuwait in 2016 for Operation Inherent Resolve, and completed my BA in International Relations while deployed to Kuwait.
... In 2020, as a Staff Sergeant, I applied and was accepted into the Army's Warrant Officer Flight Training program. I completed Warrant Officer Candidate School, SERE School (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape), and the UH60 Black Hawk helicopter course.
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More Lead Stories fact checks on claims concerning the Flight 5342 plane and helicopter crash can be found here.
