DC Plane Crash Victim Was Naval Academy Grad, Football Player, Marine: Reports

ANNAPOLIS, MD — A former Midshipman football player was among the 67 people killed during a crash involving American Airlines Flight 5342 and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter Wednesday near Washington, D.C., according to reports.

Lt. Col. Brian Ellis, who was a 53-year-old longtime Marine from Virginia, was en route to his home from a Kansas work trip at the time of the deadly collision at Reagan National Airport, which led to both aircraft plummeting into the Potomac River with no survivors, The Baltimore Banner and 247Sports reported.

In Georgia, Ellis was a former Morrow High School quarterback and trombone player, classmate and judge Matthew McCord told The Banner.

“There was nothing he wasn’t good at,” McCord told the news outlet. “The whole town was proud of Brian, and I think that’s still true today.”

Larry Volman, Ellis’ high school trombone teacher, told The Banner Ellis displayed academic excellence and had a family who heavily participated in the community.

Aside from becoming a star athlete at Morrow, 247Sports reported Ellis played two seasons of football for the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis. He followed Jim Kubiak, ex-professional football player and coach, as a starter in 1992, the sports outlet reported.

A 1993 graduate of the Naval Academy, Ellis spent most of his career as an aviator but had also been an analyst and strategic communicator, The Banner reported. He was in the Marine Corps for 22 years and had two sons, the news outlet reported.

“Our hearts go out to all those who experienced loss through this devastating event,” U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association spokesperson John Schofield said in a statement to the media. “Among those on board was one of our own — Brian Ellis ’93, a former Navy football player and proud graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. We extend our deepest condolences to his family, friends and the entire Naval Academy community who mourn his passing.”

Flight 5342 was arriving from Wichita, Kansas, where the 2025 Prevagen U.S. Figure Skating Championships were held. Sixty passengers and four crew members were on board the plane, including Russian and American figure skaters, reports say.

Three Army soldiers were on the Black Hawk helicopter, which was being used in a training exercise out of Fort Belvoir, Virginia, at the time of the crash near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Military.com reported, citing the Pentagon.

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