India, Feb. 1 -- Jo Ellis, a Virginia Army National Guard helicopter pilot, was misidentified as the captain of the downed Black Hawk. Following the huge uproar on social media, Ellis, who is transgender, posted a video on social media as "proof of life" to reassure people that she is alive and had not piloted the crashed helicopter.

"The Blackhawk helicopter pilot involved in the Washington D.C. Reagan National Airport #planecrash has been identified as transgender military pilot Jo Ellis," said a now-deleted January 31 post on X.

"Reports indicate Ellis attempted to take out three other passenger planes before colliding midair with American Airlines Flight 5342 over the Potomac. Just one day before the disaster, Ellis appeared on the ...