Trans Black Hawk Pilot Falsely Named as ‘DEI’ Pilot In D.C. Crash Shares Message: ‘Insulting To the Families… They Don’t Deserve That’
A transgender helicopter pilot with the Virginia National Guard dispelled rumors Friday that she was in any way affiliated with a deadly crash at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday.
Jo Ellis was erroneously identified on X (formerly Twitter) by multiple users as well as the platform’s AI chatbot Grok as having been flying a helicopter in the collision that killed service members Ryan O’Hara, Andrew Eaves, and 64 others.
Some implied the identity of a third deceased service member was being withheld because the person was a “DEI” hire – and thus potentially responsible for the deaths of 64 people aboard a commercial jet.
Ellis was floated as the culprit but took to Facebook Friday morning with a message and a “proof of life” announcement. Ellis said:
Interesting morning. 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 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 for you all to end all the rumors.
I also have a statement: 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 on Wednesday evening. Thank you.
As NBC News noted, X users were not alone in falsely identifying Ellis as the third service member.
When prompted about the crash, Grok replied, “A military helicopter crash involving a transgender pilot named Jo Ellis has sparked significant discussion on X, particularly after the incident where the helicopter collided with an American Airlines flight, resulting in 66 fatalities.”
As of Friday night, Grok no longer mentioned Ellis when asked about Wednesday’s air disaster.
