The US Army has officially released the names of two of the soldiers on board the Black Hawk helicopter that collided with a passenger plane on Wednesday night over the Potomac River near Reagan National Airport.
The Army identified Staff Sgt. Ryan Austin O’Hara, 28, as one of the three crew members killed in the crash, pending positive identification. O’Hara, from Lilburn, Georgia, was the Black Hawk’s crew chief.
The second soldier has been identified as Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves, 39, from Great Mills, Maryland. The Army said his remains have not yet been recovered.
“At the request of the family, the name of the third Soldier will not be released at this time,” the Army said.
Though the third soldier’s name is not being released at the request of her family, CNN was told she was co-piloting the Black Hawk and had about 500 flight hours.
The two crew members whose bodies have not been recovered are classified as duty status-whereabouts unknown.
Eaves, the instructor pilot on board the helicopter, had about 1,000 flight hours, making him an experienced pilot, CNN has reported.
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said the state is in mourning after Eaves was killed, according to a post on X Thursday.
“Mississippi is mourning the loss of Brooksville native Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Eaves, who was killed in last night’s accident at Reagan National Airport,” Reeves said.
Josh Muehlendorf, Chief Warrant Officer 5 with the US Army, worked with O’Hara when he was a senior instructor pilot of the battalion O’Hara was in. He told CNN O’Hara’s “military occupational specialty was a 15T and he was originally trained to be a maintainer of Black Hawk helicopters.”
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp expressed condolences for O’Hara on Thursday. O’Hara leaves behind a wife and 1-year-old son, CNN has reported.
