Gwinnett high school grad among soldiers killed in Washington crash

“We send our deepest condolences to the families and friends of Ryan O’Hara and Sam Lilley as they navigate this difficult time,” Gov. Brian Kemp said in a post on X. “Both of these young Georgians shared a passion for flight and for serving others, and this terrible tragedy is that much more difficult knowing their lives were cut so unexpectedly short.”

Officials said all 67 people aboard the flights were killed.

O’Hara became one of the leaders of the JROTC program at Parkview and “was all fired up about joining the Army” right after high school, Erwin said.

“He was a go-to kid, you know,” Erwin said. “If you needed something done, he was one of the first people you’d look for.”

O’Hara, who was not a pilot, had been working on helicopter flights for most of his time in the Army, including as a crew chief.

AP News reported that the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk crew was “very experienced” and familiar with flying in the often-congested area, a top Army aviation official said.

“Both pilots had flown this specific route before, at night. This wasn’t something new to either one of them,” said Jonathan Koziol, chief of staff for Army aviation. “Even the crew chief in the back has been in the unit for a very long time, very familiar with the area, very familiar with the routing structure.”

Credit: Provided

Credit: Provided

The three soldiers were on a “routine annual retraining of night flights on a standard corridor for a continuity of government mission,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a news conference. “Tragically, last night a mistake was made ... there was some sort of an elevation issue that we have immediately begun investigating.”

President Donald Trump, speculating about the cause of the crash Thursday, questioned whether the helicopter pilots were wearing night vision goggles, but Hegseth confirmed they were. Trump also said “you had a pilot problem,” and that the helicopter was “going at an angle that was unbelievably bad.” Trump also questioned why the Army pilot didn’t change course, saying that “you can stop a helicopter very quickly,” AP reported.

The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating.

The disaster has left Erwin and the O’Hara family reeling.

“The fire that’s been lit under this tragedy, politically, has really upset me,” Erwin said. “With every one of those victims of this accident, there’s somebody that loved a person that was killed.

“Ryan deserves better than that.”

Army colleague Josh Muehlendorf, who was O’Hara’s superior officer, said in an AJC interview that he worked closely with him a couple of years ago, and the two “butted heads often.” He called his death “a huge loss to Army aviation and the world around him.”

“Ryan, he was a standout. He was absolutely committed to discipline and excellence and knowing his craft. He was an expert,” said Muehlendorf, a chief warrant officer five (CW5). “He was just such a joy to work with because I could always count on him to speak up and advocate for what he thought was right.”

O’Hara loved his family, and even told Muehlendorf one time that he needed to get home to his wife for date night when a debriefing was running long.

Scot O’Hara, Ryan’s uncle, posted on Facebook that his nephew was the “most doting dad ever.”

“So heartbroken to hear we have lost my sweet nephew,” the post said. “Love you much, Ryan.”

— Staff writer Rosana Hughes contributed to this article.