A transgender soldier, Jo Ellis, a Chief Warrant Officer and Black Hawk helicopter pilot, has spoken out after being incorrectly named as one of the pilots who died in a collision with an American Airlines plane in Washington D.C. on January 29. Ellis took to Facebook to correct the misinformation, saying “Some craziness has happened on the internet and I’m being named as one of the pilots of the DC crash.” She also requested that anyone seeing similar posts report them, as it is insulting to the victims and their families.
For his part, President Donald Trump blamed diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts for the crash, stating that they lowered standards for hiring air traffic controllers during the Joe Biden and Barack Obama presidencies. He also questioned the helicopter crew’s actions, saying that the American Airlines pilot was doing everything right. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, on the other hand, attributed the accident to a mistake made by the soldiers, who were training for a “Continuity of Government mission.”
An investigation into the cause of the crash is currently underway.
