U.S. Army Identifies Third Soldier Killed in Washington Helicopter Crash

The U.S. Army on Saturday released the name of the third soldier killed in the midair collision between a Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines passenger jet near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport earlier this week. The crash killed 67 people, including three service members.

The soldier was identified as Captain Rebecca Lobach, an aviation officer from Durham, North Carolina, who had served in the 12th Aviation Battalion at Fort Belvoir, Virginia since 2019. The Army initially withheld her name at the family's request but later released it with their approval.

"She was a bright star in all our lives," her family said in a statement, adding that Lobach was a victim advocate for sexual assault survivors and had planned to become a doctor after her military service.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) provided new details on the crash, revealing that the CRJ700 passenger jet was flying at approximately 325 feet (91 meters) at the time of impact, according to data from the aircraft’s black box. The Army helicopter was believed to be at 200 feet (61 meters), the maximum altitude allowed for its route, though investigators are still reviewing the discrepancy in flight data.

Officials also confirmed that the helicopter crew was warned about the jet two minutes before impact. The cockpit voice recorder captured a verbal reaction from the plane’s crew just one second before the crash, followed by an automated "traffic, traffic, traffic" alert.

The Army had previously identified the other two soldiers killed in the crash as Staff Sergeant Ryan Austin O'Hara, 28, and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves, 39.

Efforts to recover wreckage from the Potomac River are set to begin Sunday, with 42 bodies recovered so far, according to Washington, D.C., fire officials.

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