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Social Media Posts Misidentify Pilot Killed in Midair Collision Over D.C.


Este artículo estará disponible en español en El Tiempo Latino.

Quick Take

The U.S. Army identified one of the Black Hawk helicopter pilots killed in the midair crash with a passenger jet on Jan. 29 as Capt. Rebecca M. Lobach. But social media posts have falsely identified two different women to claim the pilot was either a transgender woman or a former White House press aide.


Full Story

During his first weeks in office, President Donald Trump issued executive orders that placed a freeze on hiring federal employees, banned transgender people from serving in the military and ended any federal programs or policies aimed at diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI.

As we’ve written, diversity initiatives and Trump’s executive orders have been cited, without evidence, by the president and social media posts as factors in the midair collision of a passenger jet and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Jan. 29. All 64 people aboard the jet coming from Wichita, Kansas, and the three soldiers in the helicopter were killed.

Partisan politics and references to Trump’s policies have surfaced again in social media posts that have misidentified one of the helicopter pilots killed in the crash.

In the days immediately after the collision, online posts falsely claimed that one of the dead helicopter pilots was a transgender woman named Jo Ellis. “Was this … why Trump said what he said?” a Threads post asked.

Ellis, a helicopter pilot who has served for 15 years in the Virginia Army National Guard, took to social media herself to show that she was not involved in the collision, sharing a “proof of life” video and statement on her Facebook page on Jan. 31. In addition, Ellis appeared in an interview with commentator Michael Smerconish on CNN on Feb. 1.

Also on Feb. 1, the U.S. Army issued a statement identifying a female pilot killed in the helicopter as Capt. Rebecca M. Lobach of Durham, North Carolina. The statement said Lobach had served as an aviation officer in the Army since July 2019 and was assigned to the 12th Aviation Battalion, Ft. Belvoir, Virginia. Lobach’s awards included the Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal and Army Service Ribbon.

The other two soldiers killed in the crash, both men, were identified by the Army as Staff Sgt. Ryan Austin O’Hara, a helicopter repairer, and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves, a pilot.

Misidentified Again Online

Despite the Army’s Feb. 1 statement identifying Lobach and sharing her photo, subsequent social media posts included a photo of another woman and wrongly claimed she was the soldier killed in the crash.

A Feb. 2 Threads post claimed, “It’s being reported that the Blackhawk pilot responsible for killing 64 civilians in DC on Wednesday night is Rebecca Lobach. She worked for Karine Jean-Pierre in the Press shop at the White House during the Biden administration. She was not a full-time pilot.”

The post gets the pilot’s name right, but Lobach did not serve in the White House press office, and she does not appear in a photo in the Threads post that shows former President Joe Biden and White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre with a group of young people.

A Feb. 3 Instagram post shows the same photo of young people with Biden, with a red circle around one young woman. The text on the post says, “BLACK HAWK PILOT: She spent the last two years at the White House instead of flying? Why?”

The photo was indeed included in a Jan. 2 Instagram post by Jean-Pierre, who said, “Here’s to the best team in the business. I couldn’t do it without you. … Let’s run though the tape!”

But the fact-checking website Lead Stories identified the woman highlighted in the Feb. 3 Instagram post photo as Chloe Kellison, whose LinkedIn and Instagram accounts identify her as a press assistant at the White House.

While Lobach is not the woman in the photo shared in the social media posts, she did serve as a White House military social aide. Social aides assist with “diplomatic protocol at state events, at annual meetings with the leaders of Congress and the federal judiciary, and at other significant social events,” according to the White House Historical Association website.

A statement from the Lobach family included with the Army’s Feb. 1 statement said: “Rebecca was a warrior and would not hesitate to defend her country in battle. But she was as graceful as she was fierce: in addition to her duties as an Army aviator, Rebecca was honored to serve as a White House Military Social Aide, volunteering to support the President and First Lady in hosting countless White House events, including ceremonies awarding the Medal of Honor and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.”

The family’s statement also said, “Rebecca began her career in the United States Army as a distinguished military graduate in ROTC at the University of North Carolina, and was in the top 20% of cadets nationwide. She achieved the rank of Captain, having twice served as a Platoon Leader and as a Company Executive Officer in the 12th Aviation Battalion, Davison Army Airfield, Fort Belvoir, Virginia. With more than 450 hours of flight time, she earned certification as a pilot-in-command after extensive testing by the most senior and experienced pilots in her battalion.”

Social media posts highlighted a former White House press aide, Chloe Kellison, (left) and misidentified her as Capt. Rebecca Lobach (right), a pilot killed in the Jan. 29 midair collision, seen in a photo provided by the U.S. Army.

Editor’s note: FactCheck.org is one of several organizations working with Meta to debunk misinformation shared on social media. Our previous stories can be found here. Meta has no control over our editorial content.

Sources

CNN. “Trans Army Pilot: ‘I was not surprised by the hate. This is my reality.'” Smerconish. 1 Feb 2025.

Hale Spencer, Saranac and D’Angelo Gore. “No Evidence for the Political Finger-Pointing Over D.C. Plane Crash.” FactCheck.org. 31 Jan 2025.

Raby, John. “What is known about the deadly collision between a passenger jet and Army helicopter.” Associated Press. 4 Feb 2025.

Shapiro, Emily. “DC plane crash live updates: Crews hope to recover cockpit on Tuesday.” ABC News. 4 Feb 2025.

Simmons-Duffin, Selena. “Trump issues order to ban transgender troops from serving openly in the military.” NPR. 28 Jan 2025.

Thompson, Stuart A. “Virginia Pilot Responds After She Is Falsely Targeted Over Black Hawk Crash.” New York Times. Updated 3 Feb 2025.

U.S. Army. “Army identifies Third Soldier involved in Helicopter Crash.” Army Public Affairs. 1 Feb 2025.

White House Historical Association. “White House Military Social Aides.” Accessed 4 Feb 2025.

White House. Presidential Actions. “Hiring Freeze.” Executive Order. 20 Jan 2025.

White House. Presidential Actions. “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs.” Executive Order. 20 Jan 2025.

White House. Presidential Actions. “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness.” Executive Order. 27 Jan 2025.