Jo Ellis, a Black Hawk pilot with the Virginia Army National Guard who is transgender, was falsely identified as the captain flying the U.S. military helicopter with an American Airlines jet in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday night, killing 67 people.
“I understand some people have associated me with the crash in D.C. 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,” she said in a Facebook video with the caption: “proof of life.”
Ellis previously shared screenshots of X accounts spreading the unsubstantiated claims. One wrote: “So the pilot was trans?…I wouldn’t be surprised.”
The Army released the names of two soldiers on the helicopter that collided: Staff Sgt. Ryan Austin O’Hara, 28, and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves, 39. The identity of the third solider has not been identified at the request of the family, according to the Associated Press.
As of Friday morning, 41 bodies have been recovered, officials said. A civil rights attorney, teenage ice skating stars, and a soon-to-be-married pilot are among those killed in the crash.
Investigators are also working to piece together what led up to the deadly collision. NTSB will provide updates Friday afternoon.