The Army confirmed on Saturday the identity of the last soldier who perished in the tragic collision of a Black Hawk helicopter and a passenger plane over Washington, D.C. This announcement comes after the family requested a delay in naming the pilot to minimize online speculation surrounding her identity.
Capt. Rebecca Lobach, a 28-year-old pilot from Durham, North Carolina, was part of the Black Hawk flight that collided with American Eagle Flight 5342 around 9 p.m. on Wednesday near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Tragically, all 67 individuals on both the helicopter and the airplane lost their lives in this devastating incident.
Her family expressed their sorrow at losing Rebecca, describing her as a “bright star” in their lives.
Joining Lobach in the Black Hawk were Chief Warrant Officer Andrew Eaves, aged 39, from Great Mills, Maryland, and Staff Sgt. Ryan O’Hara, 28, from Lilburn, Georgia. All three were members of Bravo Company, 12th Aviation Battalion, stationed at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
While Eaves and O’Hara were publicly named by the military the day prior, Lobach’s name was withheld until the family felt ready to share it. They ultimately decided that delaying its release only fueled misguided narratives, detracting from her remarkable legacy as a pilot and person.
She also served as a White House military social aide during the Biden administration, as reported by skynews.com and the New York Post.
Click here for photos of Lobach working in the Whitehouse, along with the Biden Administration, as well as some photos of her past memories.
In the aftermath of the collision, various conspiracy theories surfaced online regarding the identity of the helicopter’s third crew member. Some claims inaccurately identified Jo Ellis, a transgender pilot and chief warrant officer 2 from the Virginia National Guard, as the individual piloting the Black Hawk.
Conspiracy theories surfaced as a result of the last pilot’s name not being released in the same timeframe as the other two pilots.
Currently, it is not known why the Black Hawk crashed into the passenger jet plane.
Lobach will be mourned and missed by many family members, friends and the aviation community.
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https://nypost.com/2025/02/02/us-news/friend-of-army-capt-rebecca-lobach-shares-moving-tribute/
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