The crew chief of the Black Hawk helicopter involved in the deadly mid-air collision with an American Airlines flight has been identified as a father-of-one.
Ryan O’Hara from Georgia was on board the doomed UH-60 helicopter that hit the regional jet and then plunged into the Potomac River on Wednesday night.
He was one of three Army soldiers on an annual proficiency training flight and is among the 67 lives lost in the deadliest U.S. plane crash since 2009.
The vitcims included several skaters, coaches, their families and parents and their children from a local Virginia school district.
O’Hara left behind a wife and a one-year-old son, and was remembered fondly by his his school as a beloved member of the rifle team.
The cause of one of the worst airline incidents in U.S. history has still not been determined as first responders pull dozens of bodies out of the river.
But President Donald Trump on Thursday suggested the helicopter pilots should have seen where they were going in an extraordinary briefing on what he called ‘an excrutiating night in our nation’s history’.
Trump said the airliner was ‘doing everything right’ while the Black Hawk was ‘going at an angle that was unbelievably bad’.
Defense Secertary Pete Hegseth added that there was an ‘elevation issue’ the Army is already looking into.
In the aftermath, first responders in the nation’s capital confirmed there were no survivors and the rescue operation had turned to recovery.
Multiple federal agencies have now launched an investigation into how the aircraft came into contact so close to one of the busiest transport hubs in the country.
Ryan O’Hara from Georgia was on board the doomed helicopter when it plunged into the Potomac River on Wednesday night
The Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corp at Parkview High in Gwinnett County confirmed O’Hara was a student and one of those on board.
‘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 nights crash in DC.,’ Parkview MCJROTC posted on Facebook.
‘Our deepest condolences go out to Gary O’Hara and his entire family.’
The post, that has since been removed, 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 Black Hawk was assigned to Bravo Company of the 12th Aviation Battalion out of Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
Hegseth said the crew had night vision goggles and were experienced.
Doomed Flight 5342 from Wichita, Kansas – carrying 60 passengers and four crew – collided in a massive fireball with the Army Black Hawk helicopter 400ft above the Potomac River as it was approaching Reagan National Airport just before 9pm Wednesday.
Pilots Captain Jonathan Campos, 34, and First Officer Samuel Lilley and flight attendants Ian Epstein and Danasia Elder were all among the victims.
In a further terrible twist to the tragedy, Lilley Sr revealed he himself is a former Army Black Hawk pilot and had flown in the exact same area where the disaster happened.
O’Hara left behind a wife and a one-year-old son, and was remembered fondly by his his school as a beloved member of the rifle team
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Emergency workers recover debris from the Potomac River in the aftermath of the collision
Surveillance footage taken from inside the airport also captured the moment the two collided in midair
Emergency response teams are seen at the scene of the crash in the Potomac River
‘Samuel was in the prime of his life. He was engaged to a beautiful, wonderful girl and we were all excited about her joining the family,’ he said.
Timothy, a former Army warrant officer who is now a private jet pilot, was at Teterboro Airport, New Jersey, when the crash happened – and is now in Washington.
But he initially had no idea his beloved son was one of the pilots who perished in the tragedy.
‘I saw the crash on the news. I didn’t think there was any way it was my son,’ he said. ‘But then I watched long enough to figure out it was my son’s airline and then I kind of know his schedule.
This is breaking news. More to follow
