Army Refuses to Identify Female Black Hawk Pilot Killed in DC Collision

Are they kidding? This was catastrophic and the only person whose name is withheld is the pilot flying the helicopter?

Army refuses to identify female Black Hawk pilot killed in DC collision

By Shane Galvin, NY Post, Jan. 31, 2025:

The Army is refusing to name the female pilot killed aboard the military helicopter that collided with a passenger jet flying into Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday.

In an announcement Friday, the Army, which disclosed the names of the two other soldiers in the chopper who died, said the woman’s family requested her identity be withheld from the public.

“At the request of the family, the name of the third Soldier will not be released at this time,” the Army Public Affairs wrote on their website.

The unidentified soldier was an experienced pilot with more than 500 hours of flying experience, the Telegraph reported, citing Jonathan Koziol, chief of staff of the army’s aviation directorate.

The Army on Friday formally identified Staff Sgt. Ryan Austin O’Hara, 28, and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves, 39, as the two other service members who were on the Black Hawk helicopter when it went down in the fiery crash into the Potomac River.

The bodies of Eaves and the female pilot have not yet been recovered, the Army said.
e Thursday, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth described the crew of the UH-60 Black Hawk crew “fairly experienced.”

Eaves, the instructor pilot on the flight, is reported to have logged more than 1,000 hours of flight time, Koziol said, according to the Telegraph.

Koziol further dismissed claims that DEI policies were to blame for the crash — something that was suggested by President Trump Thursday.

“Both pilots had flown this specific route before at night — this wasn’t something new to either one of them,” Koziol said.