Black Hawk transgender pilot crashed helicopter protesting against Trump

One of the pilots of the Black Hawk military helicopter, which collided with a passenger plane over Washington DC on January 30, could be Jo Ellis, a transgender individual.

"The pilot of the Black Hawk has been identified as Chief Warrant Officer 2 (CW2) Jo Ellis, a transgender woman with 15 years of service in the Virginia National Guard," Santa Monica Observer publication said.

Ellis had posted a series of posts on social media the day before the tragedy. In her posts, Ellis condemned Trump's decree that banned transgender individuals from serving in the military.

Earlier, Trump stated that the administration of former American leader Joe Biden and its DEI policies (diversity, equity, and inclusion) had "ruined" the state of civil aviation. He suggested that attempts to hire more people with disabilities and diversify the ranks of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) contributed to the aviation disaster.

Black Hawk crew is to blame for the crash

Former Black Hawk pilot Darin Gaub pointed out a possible cause of the plane crash near Washington. He suggested it might be related to the composition of the crew.

According to the pilot, a four-person crew is necessary for safe operation of a Black Hawk military helicopter, but on the night of the crash, there were only three crew members on board. Yet, this is typical for training flights, he noted.

"Usually, two commanders are seated in the back, looking around at a 90-degree angle to the two pilots in the front. In some cases, each of them can see even more than the pilots," he said.

Gaub also speculated that the helicopter deviated from the required altitude, possibly in an attempt to avoid a collision with another aircraft.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) stated that the cause of the crash could be established in only a year or more. The preliminary report is to be published in 30 days, but such large investigations usually take a year, department representative Todd Inman said on Good Morning America.