The US Army on Saturday identified Captain Rebecca M Lobach, 28, of Durham, North Carolina, as the third soldier who died when an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided with an American Airlines jet near Reagan National Airport in Washington, DC, on Wednesday night.
Lobach, an Army aviation officer since 2019, was a distinguished military graduate from the University of North Carolina’s ROTC program and ranked in the top 20% of cadets nationwide, her family said in a statement released by the Army.
She had logged over 450 flight hours and earned certification as a pilot-in-command after rigorous testing by senior pilots in her battalion.
Her family described her as “kind, generous, brilliant, funny, ambitious, and strong,” adding that she also served as a certified sexual harassment and assault response advocate. She had aspirations of becoming a physician after her military service. “We request that you please respect our privacy as we grieve this devastating loss,” the family’s statement read, as per AP.
The Army had withheld Lobach’s name at the family’s request, while the identities of the two other soldiers—staff sgt Ryan Austin O’Hara, 28, of Lilburn, Georgia, and chief warrant officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves, 39, of Great Mills, Maryland—were released on Friday.
The cause of the collision remains under investigation by the National transportation safety board (NTSB), with officials focusing on multiple factors, including air traffic control procedures, the helicopter’s altitude and the jet’s final approach.
US President Donald Trump has publicly blamed the helicopter for allegedly flying too high and has linked the incident to diversity hiring policies at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), though no evidence has emerged suggesting such initiatives played a role in the crash.
The 67 victims of the collision included a diverse group of passengers.
According to the New York Times, many were returning from a US Figure Skating development camp, including young skaters and their families. Others on board included professionals such as civil rights lawyer Kiah Duggins, engineering student Grace Maxwell, and Moody’s analysts Chris Collins and Melissa Nicandri.
A group of duck-hunting friends and an official from the Philippine national police force were also among the deceased.
The American Airlines crew, consisting of pilot Jonathan J. Campos, co-pilot Sam Lilley, and flight attendant Danasia Brown Elder, also perished in the crash.
Air traffic control staffing under scrutiny
According to the news agency AFP, an internal FAA safety report revealed that air traffic control staffing at Reagan National was “not normal” at the time of the crash. A single controller was handling both helicopter traffic and planes arriving and departing, a role typically divided between two controllers.
NTSB officials have cautioned against speculation and emphasised that their investigation is ongoing. A preliminary report is expected within 30 days, but a full investigation could take a year to complete.
