In the aftermath of the tragic mid-air collision near Washington, D.C., authorities have identified Ryan O’Hara as the crew chief aboard the U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter.
The collision occurred on Wednesday around 9:00 PM local time, involving a military helicopter with three soldiers and a civilian airplane carrying 60 passengers and four crew members.
Earlier, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth provided an update on the devastating midair collision that occurred last night in Washington, D.C., between a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and a civilian airliner.
The Army unit involved was identified as Bravo Company, 12th Aviation Battalion, based at Fort Belvoir.
The Black Hawk’s crew was operating under night vision conditions, and the purpose of the flight was to maintain required operational proficiency.
Secretary Hegseth highlighted the experience of the crew involved, though details on their identities remain withheld pending next-of-kin notifications.
“It was an annual proficiency training flight,” said Hegseth in a video statement.
“When we look at the crew, and not all can have been notified, so we’re going to withhold the ranks and names at this point. We do know on our side who was involved.
He added, “It was a fairly experienced crew that was doing a required annual night evaluation. They did have night vision goggles.”
In response to the tragedy, the Army’s Health Aviation Battalion has been granted a 48-hour operational pause on contingency missions as officials review what happened.
Ryan O’Hara, a 2014 graduate of Parkview High School in Lilburn, Georgia, has been identified as the crew chief of the U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter involved in the collision.
O’Hara was an active member of the school’s Marine Corps Junior ROTC program during his time there. He is survived by his wife and their 1-year-old son.
“It is with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of one of our own. Class of 2014, former cadet Ryan O’Hara was the Crew Chief on the Black Hawk involved in last night’s crash in DC.,” Parkview MCJROTC wrote in a now-deleted Facebook post. “Our deepest condolences go out to Gary O’Hara and his entire family.”
The post added that O’Hara is “fondly remembered as a guy who would fix things around the ROTC gym as well as a vital member of the rifle team.”
The names of the two other military members aboard the military helicopter have not been disclosed.
Fox News reported that the co-pilot of the helicopter was a woman.
The news outlet reported:
The instructor pilot in charge who was flying the Black Hawk had 1,000 flying hours – which is considered “very experienced,” Fox News has learned. Most flights are on average two hours in length.
The co-pilot had 500 flying hours, which is considered a “normal” amount of experience. Fox News is told the co-pilot was a woman. Both the instructor pilot in charge and the co-pilot were being evaluated during the flight, and were familiar with the area and route, Fox News is told.
First Officer Samuel Lilley, 28, a native of Richmond Hill, Georgia, was one of the pilots aboard the American Airlines passenger jet.
Lilley was engaged to be married and was months away from being promoted to captain, his father told Daily Mail.
“I was so proud when Sam became a pilot. Now it hurts so bad I can’t even cry myself to sleep. I know I’ll see him again but my heart is breaking. He was doing great in his career and his personal life. He was engaged to get married in the fall.
“Sam was the First Officer on the flight that crashed in DC last night. It is so devastating to lose someone that is loved so much,” Tim Lilley wrote on Facebook.
The other American Airlines pilot involved in the incident is Captain Jonathan Campos, aged 34.
According to the Daily Mail, Campos was born in New York and raised in Florida.
He attended Epic Flight Academy, where he earned his Certified Flight Instructor rating in April 2017 and became an Epic-Trained Airline Pilot in December 2018.
The two flight attendants have also been identified as Danasia Elder and Ian Epstein.
For those seeking information about family members who may have been aboard the flight, American Airlines has established a hotline at 1-800-679-8215.
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