The U.S. Army has confirmed Captain Rebecca M. Lobach as the third soldier killed in the mid-air collision with a commercial jet. The crash, which occurred near Reagan National Airport, has become one of the deadliest U.S. air disasters in recent history.
The U.S. Army has identified the third soldier who perished in the tragic helicopter collision with a commercial jet near Reagan National Airport on Wednesday night. Captain Rebecca M. Lobach , hailing from Durham, North Carolina, becomes the latest victim in what has become one of the deadliest U.S. air disaster s in recent decades. The names of the two other soldiers involved were released on Friday, but Lobach's was withheld at the time due to a request from her family.
Captain Lobach, an Army aviation officer since July 2019, had a distinguished military career. She earned an Army commendation medal and an achievement medal, graduating as a distinguished military graduate in ROTC at the University of North Carolina. Her family stated that she ranked within the top 20% of cadets nationwide. With over 450 hours of flight time, she was certified as a pilot-in-command after rigorous testing by the most senior and experienced pilots in her battalion. Beyond her piloting prowess, she served as a certified sexual harassment/assault response and prevention victim advocate and aspired to become a physician upon leaving the Army. Her family, heartbroken by the loss, described her as a 'bright star' who was 'kind, generous, brilliant, funny, ambitious and strong.' They requested privacy during this difficult time.The other soldiers identified in the crash include Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves, a 39-year-old helicopter pilot from Great Mills, Maryland, and Staff Sergeant Ryan Austin O'Hara, 28, from Lilburn, Georgia. Eaves, who served 10 years in the U.S. Navy before joining the Army in 2017, was lauded for his skill, leadership, and dedication to his fellow soldiers. He earned numerous commendations throughout his career, including multiple Army and Navy Commendation and Achievement Medals. Sergeant O'Hara, a UH-60 helicopter repairer, had served in the Army since 2014 and deployed to Afghanistan in 2017. His expertise ensured the Black Hawks remained mission-ready, allowing pilots like Eaves to complete their tasks safely. The soldiers were part of the 12th Aviation Battalion at Davison Army Airfield in Fort Belvoir, Virginia, and were engaged in a nighttime training mission when their UH-60 Black Hawk collided midair with an American Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet around 9 p.m. The cause of the crash remains under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the Army. While the investigation is in its early stages, President Donald Trump has publicly attributed blame to the helicopter for flying at an excessive altitude and criticized an FAA diversity hiring initiative, particularly concerning air traffic controllers, alleging it compromised flight safety. However, no evidence has surfaced to support the claim that these diversity initiatives played any role in the collision
Helicopter Crash Air Disaster U.S. Army Reagan National Airport Captain Rebecca M. Lobach Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves Staff Sergeant Ryan Austin O'hara NTSB Investigation FAA Diversity Hiring Military Training Mission
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