2 Army Crew Members ID'ed In DC Plane Crash

ARLINGTON, VA — The Army on Friday afternoon released the names of two soldiers who died when their Black Hawk helicopter collided with an American Airlines jet earlier this week at Reagan National Airport in Virginia.

The two soldiers named were from suburban Atlanta and southern Maryland, officials said.

The remains of Staff Sgt. Ryan Austin O’Hara, 28, of Lilburn, Georgia, the crew chief, have been recovered and a positive identification is pending, the Army said.

The remains of Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves, 39, of Great Mills, Maryland, and of the third soldier have not yet been recovered.

At the family’s request, the name of the third crew member killed in the crash is not being released at this time, the Army said.

Eaves, one of the pilots on the helicopter, served in the U.S. Navy from August 2007 to September 2017, then moved to the Army, to serve as a Black Hawk pilot.

His awards include three Army commendation medals and three Navy achievement medals, as well as a Global War on Terrorism medal.

O’Hara had served as a helicopter repairer for Black Hawks since July 2014. He deployed to Afghanistan from March to August 2017. He also has two Army commendation medals, four achievement medals and a Global War on Terrorism medal.

Search Efforts On Pause

In all, 67 peopled died in the crash: 60 plane passengers, four American Airlines crew members and the Army flight crew.

Heavy salvage equipment will be in place by Saturday afternoon to help move a portion of the American Airlines plane lying in the Potomac River, which should allow searchers to find and recover the 23 crash victims still missing, the Washingon, D.C. fire chief said Friday afternoon.

Two of the black boxes that will tell investigators what happened right before the plane and an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided at Reagan National Airport outside Washington, D.C., Wednesday night have been recovered by divers, officials said.

Authorities are still looking for the helicopter's black box recorder, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday on Fox News Channel.

The cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder of the American Airlines plane are now at the National Transportation Safety Board labs for evaluation to help determine what caused the crash. A preliminary report on what caused the mishap is expected in 30 days.

This story includes reporting by the Associated Press.