Claim that transgender pilot Jo Ellis was onboard army helicopter that crashed in D.C. is false
Jo Ellis confirmed she was not on the airplane that crashed in D.C.
CLAIM
A claim started circulating on social media that a transgender soldier was one of the pilots onboard the Black Hawk helicopter that crashed with a passenger aircraft in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, January 29, with no survivors.
BACKGROUND
A passenger aircraft collided midair with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday evening, January 29, prompting a massive emergency response in the Potomac River.
Officials confirmed there were no survivors in the crash between the American Airlines regional jet, carrying 60 passengers and four crew members, and the army helicopter carrying three soldiers.
U.S. President Donald Trump held a press conference at the White House on Thursday, blaming the federal diversity, equality and inclusion policy, also called DEI, for the crash, without providing evidence.
Authorities are still investigating the crash and have not announced its cause.
According to local media, DEI programs barred employment discrimination based on race, colour, sex, religion and other criteria to promote fairness and inclusion in the workplace.
Trump signed an executive order on the first day of his second term, on January 20, ending the DEI policy, calling it “illegal and immoral”.
Posts started emerging on social media late on Thursday, claiming Jo Ellis, a chief warrant officer and Black Hawk helicopter pilot, who is a transgender woman, was one of the soldiers onboard the helicopter that crashed.
X user Matt Wallace, who says he shares “real-time breaking news”, posted pictures of Ellis saying: “A transgender Black Hawk helicopter pilot for the military wrote a long letter about ‘Gender Dysphoria’ and depression 1 day before the fatal crash! What happened may have been another trans terror attack…”
Another X account, named Mike DePorch, with a pro-Trump profile picture, said that Ellis was on the helicopter and suggested this could have been a “suicide mission”.
Several social media users reshared the picture, including a profile named Fraxis ™, which later retracted the post, saying the source appeared to be incorrect.
According to a blog post published on smerconish.com on January 28, Ellis said she joined the Virginia Army National Guard in 2009 as a 15G helicopter mechanic and later transitioned while serving as a pilot.
“I’ve had symptoms of what I now know to be ‘Gender Dysphoria’ since I was 5 years old. I learned early to hide these symptoms from my family because I thought they meant I was a bad person”, Ellis said.
“In 2023 I sent an email to my command giving them notice that I intended to start transition under the current in-service transition policy. My commander called me immediately after receiving the email and offered his support.
“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”, Ellis said.
METHOD
Ellis took to Facebook on Friday to say she was being wrongly named as one of the army pilots in the helicopter that crashed in D.C., urging social media users to report any accounts incorrectly mentioning her name in relation to the crash.
She later posted a video entitled “Proof of life and statement”, in which she said, “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.”
Research on social media pointed to the Facebook profile of Jo Ellis, who confirmed she was not on the airplane that crashed in D.C.
RATING
A claim started circulating on social media that a transgender soldier was one of the pilots onboard the Black Hawk helicopter that crashed with a passenger aircraft in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, January 29, with no survivors is false.
SOURCES
The White House (January 20, 2025) Ending radical and wasteful government dei programs and preferencing [Accessed 31 Jan. 2025].
Michael Smerconish (January 28, 2025) – Living to Serve, Living as Myself: A Transgender Service Member’s Perspective [Accessed 31 Jan. 2025].
X (formerly Twitter). (2025). Available at: Matt Wallace – https://x.com/MattWallace888/status/1885229945896509800 [Accessed 31 Jan. 2025].
X (formerly Twitter). (2025). Available at: Fraxis ™ – https://x.com/FakeGayPolitics/status/1885346514475880641 [Accessed 31 Jan. 2025].
Facebook (2025). Available at: Jo Ellis – http://facebook.com/jellis3333/videos/1831995904294980 [Accessed 31 Jan. 2025].