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Sunday, February 09, 2025  
10 Shaban 1446  

Rebecca M Lobach: US Army identifies third crew member in Black Hawk collision

'Initial indications suggest this may have been a checkride'
Captain Rebecca Lobach, of Durham, North Carolina. U.S. Army. Reuters
Captain Rebecca Lobach, of Durham, North Carolina. U.S. Army. Reuters

The US Army has revealed the identity of the third crew member involved in the recent collision between a Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines-affiliated flight over the Potomac River, which resulted in the deaths of 67 individuals, media reported.

According to an army statement, Capt Rebecca M Lobach, from Durham, North Carolina, was a member of the 12th Aviation Battalion stationed at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, and has served since July 2019.

All three soldiers were on a training flight out of Fort Belvoir, Va, just south of Washington, at the time of the accident.

“Initial indications suggest this may have been a checkride, or periodic evaluation by an experienced instructor pilot of a less experienced pilot,” a military analyst with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Brad Bowman said.

“A checkride, as opposed to a normal training flight, creates some unique dynamics in the cockpit. In a checkride, the less experienced pilot can be nervous and eager to not make mistakes, while the instructor pilot is watching to see how the other pilot responds to different developments,” Bowman explained. “Sometimes an instructor pilot will test the less experienced aviator to see how they respond, but such a technique would have been unusual and inadvisable in that location given the reduced margin for error.”

Officials reported that the tower at Reagan National Airport notified the Black Hawk about American Eagle Flight 5342 twice: once two minutes prior to the crash and again just 12 seconds before impact.

Investigators have retrieved the black boxes from both aircraft and are continuing to recover the bodies.

The Federal Aviation Administration has limited all helicopter traffic along the route to medical evacuations and VIP flights only.

The decision to disclose her identity was made “at the request of and in coordination with the family,” the statement said.

“We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Rebecca. She was a bright star in all our lives,” her family said in a statement released by the Army.

“Rebecca was a warrior and would not hesitate to defend her country in battle … Rebecca was many things. She was a daughter, sister, partner, and friend. She was a servant, a caregiver, an advocate. Most of all she loved and was loved. Her life was short, but she made a difference in the lives of all who knew her.”

Her close friend and an active-duty field artillery officer, First Lieutenant Samantha Brown, defined her as intelligent, committed, and a strong competitor.

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Lobach accumulated 500 hours of flight time, which is considered standard, while Eaves had 1,000 hours, marking him as experienced.

Lobach was a distinguished service member, recognized with several honors, including the Army Commendation Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, and the Army Service Ribbon.

Her family stated that she graduated in the top 20% of ROTC cadets across the country. Additionally, Lobach served as a social aide at the White House during the Biden administration.

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