Trans helicopter pilot slams vile misinformation that she was responsible for Washington DC crash
False claims have gone viral on social media that Jo Ellis (L) a decorated helicopter pilot who served in Iraq, was responsible for Wednesday’s fatal air disaster in Washington (Facebook/Getty)
A decorated trans army service member, Jo Ellis, has taken to Facebook to debunk viral claims that she was the pilot of the Black Hawk helicopter that was involved in the fatal mid-air crash in Washington on Wednesday.
67 people are believed to have been killed in the incident, after an American Airlines plane from Kansas carrying 64 people onboard collided with a military helicopter, manned by three personnel, the BBC reports.
Following the tragedy, an X account called FakeGayPolitics shared a post that claimed Jo Ellis was the pilot of the helicopter at the time of the crash. It has since gone viral, and has even been picked up by various news sources, despite being false.
The misinformation states “The pilot of the Black Hawk has been identified as Chief Warrant Officer 2 (CW2) Jo Ellis, a transgender woman. Jo Ellis served in the Virginia National Guard for 15 years and transitioned while serving as a pilot. Jo has been making radicalized anti-Trump statements on socials.”
“It’s insulting to the victims”
In response, Jo Ellis took to her personal Facebook page on Friday (31 January) to debunk the claims, sharing a screenshot of the viral tweet and writing: “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.”
Her friends reacted in shock to the news, with one commenting to ask if she’d filed a police complaint, and a second writing: “Some of the posts are saying it was a suicide attempt… it’s getting ridiculous on X. The level of stupidity people jump to on zero information is insane.”
Trans helicopter pilot Jo Ellis deployed to Iraq for Operation New Dawn in 2011 and earned the Air Medal for serving as a door gunner.
Just three days ago, on January 28, Ellis had written a poignant and powerful blog post about her army career, following Donald Trump’s executive order that declared trans people as “unfit for military service.”
She wrote: “In 2024 I came out to my unit and started presenting publicly as a woman. Once again, I was met with overwhelming support from my unit at large. For obvious reasons, I was nervous I’d be unwelcome or make other females feel uncomfortable with my presence in the barracks, restrooms, etc. Many female soldiers in my unit offered their support. Some even went out of their way to make me feel comfortable in their space.”
Ellis added: I’ve paid out of pocket for all my trans-related care. The military hasn’t covered any of it.” She finished the post by saying: “I’ve served in the same unit for 15 years. I want to serve at least 15 more. I love my state and I love my country.”
According to CBS News, Ryan O’Hara, 29, was the crew chief of the Black Hawk helicopter that collided with the passenger plane. Another member of the helicopter crew has been identified as Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Eaves, who was also killed.
Donald Trump has been criticised for blaming the crash on “DEI”. DEI practices refer to equity efforts, particularly in employment, to help make workplaces a safer environment for marginalised groups such as LGBTQ+ and non-white people.
Asked by a reporter how he could blame the initiatives for the crash when an investigation into the incident had only just begun, Trump said: “Because I have common sense.”
He accused the FAA of hiring individuals with disabilities involving “hearing, vision, missing extremities, partial paralysis, complete paralysis, epilepsy, severe intellectual disability, psychiatric disability, and dwarfism.”
PinkNews has reached out to Jo Ellis for comment.
How did this story make you feel?
