ARLINGTON, Va. (DC News Now) — The U.S. Army identified two of the soldiers killed aboard the Black Hawk helicopter involved in a deadly crash with an American Airlines plane Wednesday night near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA).
39-year-old Chief Warrant Officer Andrew Eaves and 28-year-old Staff Sgt. Ryan O’Hara were part of the three-person crew. The name of the third soldier will not be released at this time at the request of the family.
Gary O’Hara, Ryan’s father, said his son died doing what he loved.
“He loved D.C. He was like, it’s the most beautiful city in the world,” Gary O’Hara said.
Staff Sgt. Ryan O’Hara served in the U.S. Army since 2014, with a tour in Afghanistan in 2017. Most recently, he was based at Fort Belvoir as a Black Hawk crew chief.
“The training that they did was night missions and never had any fear, any concern. I mean Ryan was … too bold for my blood,” Gary O’Hara said.
Gary O’Hara said his son loved his job.
He and his wife were watching the coverage of Wednesday night’s crash on TV in their Georgia home.
“I’m assuming there’s probably other crew chiefs. So it might not have been him, but honestly, I knew. My heart just ached and I was watching it, you know, as it happened,” Gary O’Hara said.
The investigation into what happened will take time. But Gary O’Hara knows one thing for certain.
“He loved the people that he flew with, and he trusted them implicitly,” he said.
Ryan O’Hara’s co-crewmember Andrew Eaves had been serving in the U.S. Navy for a decade before becoming an Army Black Hawk pilot in 2017.
His wife Carrie Eaves posted on Facebook Thursday morning saying, “We ask that you pray for our family and friends and for all the other families that are suffering today. We ask for peace while we grieve. Please refrain for negative comments on social media as these families children do not need to suffer more pain.”
There has been a lot of speculation about what happened that night, including from President Donald Trump.
“If the Black Hawk was 60 seconds behind, there’s no accident. If the aircraft was 60 seconds delayed coming into D.C., there’s no accident. So I just think it’s unfortunate that it gets political,” Gary O’Hara said.
On Thursday, Trump seemed to blame diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) hires for the crash.
“You don’t just get the keys to be able to fly a multimillion-dollar piece of equipment because, ‘oh, we’re doing you a favor because you’re black or brown or you’re a woman, you know? No, that isn’t the way it works. The way that you raise through the ranks, you have to earn your credentials,” Gary O’Hara said. “It’s a terrible tragedy. And, you know, these soldiers deserve our respect … what happened is awful.”
He is expecting a call from the White House on Saturday, possibly from Trump.
He wants Ryan to be remembered as someone who always wanted to help others.
“He was a great human being. No matter what I did in my life, I hope that I did right by Ryan because he was a great kid. And I couldn’t be prouder,” Gary O’Hara said.
