Army Black Hawk Crew Chief Involved In D.C. Crash Identified As Ryan Oโ€™Hara

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Victims Of The Black Hawk And American Airlines Collision Identified As Recovery Efforts Continue

Ryan Oโ€™Hara, the crew chief of the Army Black Hawk helicopter that collided with an American Airlines plane near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, has been identified.

American Airlines flight 5342 flew into Washington, D.C., from Witchita, Kansas, on the evening of January 29. As it approached the airport for landing, the plane collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter reportedly on a training mission.

Both aircraft crashed into the Potomac River below. Extensive search efforts started almost immediately after the collision.

View of the wreckage from the American Airlines and Black Hawk crash
Wreckage of the American Airlines plane after colliding with an Army helicopter and landing in the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. United States on January 30, 2025. Photo Credit: Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images

On Thursday (January 30), officials shared they did not expect to find any survivors. The American Airlines plane carried 60 passengers and 4 crew members, while 3 individuals were on the helicopter.

D.C.-based news station NBC 4 reports the search teams recovered an estimated 40 bodies from the Potomac River by Thursday evening.

Loved ones have started to identify the victims of the crash. Several members of the U.S. Figure Skating team and others connected to the community were among the passengers on Flight 5342.

Members of the skating community expressed their heartbreak, including Olympic figure skater Nancy Kerrigan. She shared a tearful speech in honor of the victims.

Nancy Kerrigan, Boston skating community pay tribute to those lost in DC crash

Ryan Oโ€™Hara Identified As Crew Chief Of The Army Black Hawk Helicopter

Another one of the identified victims is Ryan Oโ€™Hara, the crew chief onboard the Army Black Hawk.

FOX 5 out of Atlanta, Georgia, reports that Oโ€™Hara graduated from Parkview High School in 2014. He participated in the schoolโ€™s Marine Corps Junior ROTC program.

FOX 5 reports Oโ€™Hara earned a reputation as โ€œa guy who would fix things around the ROTC gym.โ€œ

Who is pilot Ryan Oโ€™Hara, crew chief on Black Hawk | FOX 5 News

Chief Warrant Officer 5 Josh Muehlendorf met Oโ€™Hara in Savannah in 2020. Muehlendorf remembers his friend as an excellent soldier who everyone respected. He called him โ€œone of the most dedicated, disciplined, and committed soldiers.โ€

FOX 5 states Oโ€™Hara was married and had a one-year-old son.

Additionally, Chief Warrant Officer Andrew Eaves, another one of the three soldiers on the Black Hawk, has also been identified. His family shared a statement about their loss.

The Department of the Army later identified Oโ€™Hara and Eaves as two of the three soldiers on the Black Hawk. Their statement read:

โ€œStaff Sgt. Ryan Austin Oโ€™Hara, 28, of Lilburn, Georgia, is believed to be deceased pending positive identification.โ€

โ€œThe remains of Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves, 39, of Great Mills, Maryland, have not yet been recoveredโ€ฆโ€

The Army also said, โ€œAt the request of the family, the name of the third Soldier will not be released at this time.โ€

Our prayers go out to Eaves and Oโ€™Haraโ€™s loved ones and to all affected by this tragedy. Learn how you can help some of the victimsโ€™ families here.

Identities of DC plane crash victims revealed

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About the Author

Miranda Raye

Hello, I'm Miranda, a lifelong country music fan! There are old home videos of me in my baby swing, swinging along to Dolly Parton and Ricky Van Sheltonโ€™s โ€œRockinโ€™ Years.โ€ Being able to unite my passions for storytelling, researching, and music into my work has been a dream come true.

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