The Army has identified one of the three soldiers killed in a helicopter crash near Washington, D.C. on Wednesday. Captain Rebecca Lobach, 28, served as an aviation officer and had also worked as a White House social aide. The other two soldiers have been identified as Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Eaves, 39, and Staff. Sgt. Ryan Austin O'Hara, 28. The helicopter collided with an American Airlines flight, killing 67 people. The cause of the crash is under investigation.
One of three soldiers aboard an Army Black Hawk helicopter involved in a deadly midair collision with an American Airlines flight Wednesday near Reagan National Airport outside Washington , D.C. , was identified Saturday by the Army as 28-year-old Capt. Rebecca Lobach , who had worked as a White House aide in the Biden administration. The Army said Lobach had served as an aviation officer in the Army from July 2019 until January 2025.
She had been awarded the Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal and Army Service Ribbon. Her family in a statement released through the Army described her as a 'bright star in all our lives. She was kind, generous, brilliant, funny, ambitious and strong.' Lobach was a native of Durham, North Carolina, and enlisted in the North Carolina Army National Guard while in college in December 2018, a friend, 1st Lt. Samantha Brown, told CBS News. She attended Sewanee: The University of the South, where she played basketball, and then later the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she completed a degree in biology in 2019 as a distinguished military graduate, according to Brown. When she enlisted in the National Guard, she did so as a Simultaneous Membership Program cadet, a program which allows cadets to take part in both the Reserve Officers' Training Corps and the National Guard at the same time. Lobach also served as a White House social aide during the Biden administration, Brown said. Just last month, she escorted Ralph Lauren through the White House when he was among those awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by former President Joe Biden. The other two soldiers aboard the Black Hawk helicopter have been identified as Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Eaves, 39, of Great Mills, Maryland, and Staff. Sgt. Ryan Austin O'Hara, 28, of Lilburn, Georgia, who was the chopper's crew chief. The bodies of two of the three soldiers have so far been recovered from the wreckage of the Blackhawk helicopter, a law enforcement source familiar with the recovery efforts confirmed to CBS News Saturday. The source said the bodies – a man and a woman – were recovered sometime Friday. The Black Hawk had taken off from nearby Fort Belvoir in Virginia, and was conducting a routine training mission at the time of the collision that killed 67 people, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth disclosed. 'A routine annual retraining of night flights on a standard corridor for a continuity of government mission. The military does dangerous things. It does routine things on a regular basis,' Hegseth said Thursday. 'Tragically, last night a mistake was made.' The cause is under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration.
Helicopter Crash Washington D.C. Army American Airlines Rebecca Lobach Military Investigation
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
US Army Identifies Soldiers Killed in Helicopter Crash Near Washington AirportTwo US Army soldiers, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves and Staff Sgt. Ryan Austin O’Hara, have been identified as casualties from the mid-air collision between a Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines jet near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Search efforts continue for another missing crew member.
Read more »
US Army Identifies Soldiers Killed in Black Hawk Helicopter CrashThe US Army has identified two soldiers killed in a helicopter crash near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves is confirmed dead, while Staff Sgt. Ryan Austin O’Hara is presumed dead pending official identification. A third soldier remains missing. The soldiers were part of a 12th Aviation Battalion training mission when their UH-60 Black Hawk collided with an American Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet. The cause of the crash is under investigation.
Read more »
Army identifies soldiers killed in Black Hawk helicopter crash near DCAThe U.S. Army has identified the soldiers aboard the Black Hawk helicopter that collided with an American Airlines jet Wednesday night near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
Read more »
U.S. Army Identifies Soldiers Killed in Black Hawk-Jet CollisionThe U.S. Army has identified two soldiers killed in a mid-air collision between a Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines jet near Washington D.C. Search efforts continue for another missing crew member. The soldiers, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves and Staff Sgt. Ryan Austin O’Hara, were part of a training mission when the crash occurred. The cause of the crash is under investigation.
Read more »
Washington, D.C., plane crash live updates: Army helicopter, commercial jet collide over Potomac RiverNBC News' Tom Costello shares reports from WRC that law enforcement and emergency sources say the American Airlines regional jet broke into two pieces after colliding with an Army Black Hawk helicopter, roughly in seven feet of near-freezing water, raising concerns about survivability of those onboard.
Read more »
Deadly Collision: Army Helicopter and Passenger Jet Crash Near Washington, D.C.An Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Eagle passenger jet collided near Washington, D.C., resulting in no survivors. The incident, under investigation, highlights aviation safety concerns.
Read more »