Shock as Army takes ‘extraordinary step’ over female Black Hawk pilot in DC plane crash: Recap
The US Army has refused to identify the co-pilot of the helicopter in the DC air disaster at the request of the family.
Pilot in charge Chief Warrant Office 2 Andrew Eaves and crew chief Staff Sergeant Ryan O’Hara were named on Friday as those on board.
The Black Hawk helicopter appeared to fly straight into American Airlines Flight 5342 as in came in to land at Reagan National Airport just before 9pm on Wednesday.
All three soldiers on board were killed, along with 60 passengers and four crew on the plane that was arriving from Wichita, Kansas.
Military personnel killed in accidents or combat are usually made public 24 hours after their families are notified, making withholding her name very unusual.
‘At the request of the family, the name of the third soldier will not be released at this time,’ the US Army said.
O’Hara and the co-pilot’s bodies have been recovered but Eaves is still in the water along with several of the airline passengers.
Relatives are entitled to do this, it is extremely unusual, with the New York Times branding the decision to withhold the name an ‘extraordinary step’.
Why the co-pilot’s family requested her name be withheld, and why the US Army acquiesced, is unclear.
She had about 500 hours of flying of experience, which is considered a ‘normal’ amount, and her ‘very experienced’ colleagues had about 1,000 hours.
Our live coverage has now ended but for a full recap see below.
Army refuses to name helicopter co-pilot at family’s request
The mystery over the identity of a female pilot in the Black Hawk helicopter that crashed has deepened after Army officials refused to release her name.
An Army spokesperson confirmed the woman’s name was being withheld at the request of her family at a press conference on Friday.
‘At the request of the family, the name of the third soldier will not be released at this time,’ the US Army said.
No details about why the woman’s name was withheld have been released.
Military personnel killed in accidents or combat are usually made public 24 hours after their families are notified, making withholding her name very unusual.
Relatives of military personnel who die in the line of duty can request to have their late loved-one’s identity kept private.
But the decision to withhold the woman’s name in the face of a huge and already controversial tragedy has inflamed outlandish theories about the disaster.
The New York Times – a publication not prone to hyperbole – called the decision to withhold the woman’s name an ‘extraordinary step.’
Pilot in charge Chief Warrant Office 2 Andrew Eaves and crew chief Staff Sergeant Ryan O’Hara were named on Friday as those on board.
Earlier on Friday, a transgender woman called Jo Ellis was falsely-named as the woman on board the doomed Black Hawk.
She debunked the claim during an exclusive chat with DailyMail.com.
An investigation into what caused Wednesday night’s collision with an American Eagle plane carrying 64 people is ongoing.
The Black Hawk chopper was seen crossing into the path of the jet and striking it, with its pilot subsequently accused of deviating from the course and flying too high.
Both aircraft plunged into the Potomac River below, with all 64 people on the plane and three on the chopper dying as a result.
Ronald Reagan National Airport, where the American Eagle jet was coming into land, also faces questions over air traffic controller shortages despite serving a notoriously-crowded airspace.
On Thursday night it emerged that one controller at the airport had been allowed to go home on the night of the crash, leaving their colleague with a much larger workload.
President Trump has also suggested diversity equity and inclusion (DEI) measures may be to blame for the tragedy, but he has not elaborated on his claim.
Breaking:Black box from Black Hawk recovered
NTSB officials have confirmed that the black box from the Black Hawk helicopter involved in the crash has been recovered from the Potomac River.
They said that the box contained both the cockpit voice recorder and the digital flight data reciever.
An official said: ‘We saw no exterior damage that would indicate that it was compromised.’
The NTSB said they are confident they will be able to extract all the infromation from the black box.
On Thursday night two black boxes from the passenger jet were also recovered in a good condition.
This image from the NTSB shows investigators inspecting a black box from American Airlines flight 5342
Makeshift memorial for victims appears near crash site
A makeshift memorial has appeared near the crash site in Washington DC, with large crosses erected in memory of all 67 who died in the midair collision.
Karoline Leavitt defends Trump’s foul mouth and Pete Buttigieg insult after plane crash
Donald Trump’s press secretary on Friday defended the president’s use of an expletive during a briefing on Washington air tragedy, explaining that it was one of the ways in which he connected with ordinary Americans.
A day earlier, Trump delivered an update on the air crash, railing against the previous administration and its transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg, as a ‘disaster’ with ‘a good line of bullshit.’
Leavitt was asked whether this was part of a deliberate communications strategy.
‘I think one of the things that the American people love most about this president is that he often says what they are thinking, but sometimes lack the courage to say themselves,’ she said,
‘And I think yesterday at this podium, you heard President Trump express great frustration, perhaps even anger, with the previous administration’s policies, many of which have led to the crises that our country is currently facing and that this president is focused on fixing.’
Buttigieg had blasted the president, saying he should be ‘leading, not lying,’ after his wild briefing room appearance.
Karoline Leavitt defends Trump’s foul mouth and Pete Buttigieg insult
Friday’s White House briefing provided yet another reminder of how the seat of American power has been transformed in two short weeks.[
