Captain Rebecca Lobach is identified as third Black Hawk pilot who died in collision with American Airlines flight in DC

The U.S. Army has identified the third pilot of the H-60 Black Hawk Helicopter that collided with an American Airline CRJ-700 passenger jet on Wednesday as it was on approach to land at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, killing 67 people.

Captain Rebecca M. Lobach, 28, from Durham, North Carolina was one of three soldiers aboard the chopper that crashed into the jet just as it was coming into land. 

The Army had initially refused to identify Lobach at the request of her family but the decision to release her name came ‘at the request of and in coordination with the family,’ according to a statement released by the Army.

‘We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Rebecca. She was a bright star in all our lives,’ her family said. ‘Rebecca was a warrior and would not hesitate to defend her country in battle.’

Lobach had worked as a White House aide during the Biden administration and had served as an aviation officer in the Army from July 2019 until January 2025. 

Her family went on to describe her as ‘kind, generous, brilliant, funny, ambitious and strong.’ 

Lobach had been awarded the Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal and Army Service Ribbon. 

Lobach began her career in the United States Army as a distinguished military graduate in ROTC at the University of North Carolina, and was in the top 20 percent of cadets nationwide her family explained. 

She achieved the rank of Captain, having twice served as a Platoon Leader and as a Company Executive Officer in the 12th Aviation Battalion, Davison Army Airfield, Fort Belvoir, Virginia. 

With more than 450 hours of flight time, she earned certification as a pilot-in-command after extensive testing by the most senior and experienced pilots in her battalion.

Pilot in charge Chief Warrant Office 2 Andrew Eaves and crew chief Staff Sergeant Ryan O’Hara were  both named on Friday as those on board the helicopter. 

Eaves’ grieving widow Carrie said: ‘I am sure by now all of you have heard the news of the tragedy that has occurred in DC. 

‘My husband was one of the pilots in the Blackhawk. We ask that you pray for our family and friends and for all the other families that are suffering today. We ask for peace while we grieve.’

She shared several photos of Eaves, one of which he was in uniform, and asked her friends to share any pictures they may have of him as a tribute to his memory. 

Meanwhile, O’Hara, 28, left behind a wife and a one-year-old son, and was remembered fondly by his his school as a beloved member of the rifle team.

His father, Gary, was watching television on the couch at his Midway, Georgia, home on Wednesday night when he saw the breaking news that a commercial plane had collided with a military helicopter.

He told the Washington Post: ‘I just had a gut feeling when I saw the story breaking.’

About 10am Thursday, two Army officials knocked on his door to deliver the horrific news, his 28-year-old son was among the casualties.

‘As a parent, how do you take the news like this and not be totally broken?’ he asked.

‘His mother and I and his sister are just absolutely devastated to think we were talking to him just yesterday and we’ll never have the opportunity to talk with him again.’

Retired Army chief warrant officer Jonathan Koziol told ABC News that trio were ‘very experienced.’

O’Hara individually had hundreds of hours of flight time logged, while Eaves, the instructor pilot running the training drill, had ‘more than 1,000 hours of flight time.’

Lobach had also logged more than 450 hours, Koziol said.

‘Both pilots had flown this specific route before at night — this wasn’t something new to either one of them,’ he said.

‘These are our top pilots doing this National Capital Region.’

No one survived the Wednesday night’s collision. The remains of 42 people had been pulled from the river by Saturday afternoon, including 38 that had been positively identified, according to Washington emergency officials.

They expect to recover all of the remains, though the wreckage of the plane’s fuselage will probably have to be pulled from the water to get all the bodies, officials said.

On Friday night the helicopter ‘was briefly stabilized with a crane to assist in recovery efforts, however, it has not been removed from the water,’ the Washington Fire and EMS Department said in the Saturday statement.

The collision occurred as an American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas carrying 64 passengers was preparing to land just across the Potomac from the nation’s capital, and hit an Army Black Hawk helicopter that flew into the jet’s path. 

Army officials have said the helicopter crew was highly experienced, and familiar with the congested skies around the city. 

Military aircraft frequently make such flights to practice routes they would use if key government officials need to be evacuated during an attack or major catastrophe.

The National Transportation Safety Board is scheduled to update reporters on Saturday evening.

Investigators are examining the actions of the military pilot and air traffic control. Full NTSB investigations typically take at least a year, though investigators hope to have a preliminary report within 30 days.

Other possible factors in the crash, including the helicopter’s altitude and whether the crew was using night vision goggles, are still under investigation, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Fox News Channel.

Black boxes have been recovered from both aircraft.

More than 300 responders were taking part in the recovery effort at a given time, officials said. 

After a rainy Friday, clear skies and warmer temperatures made for better conditions Saturday for workers in the field. 

Two Navy salvage barges were also expected to arrive to lift heavy wreckage.

‘This is heartbreaking work,’ Washington, D.C., Fire Chief John Donnelly Sr. told reporters told reporters Friday. ‘It´s been a tough response for a lot of our people.’

On Saturday a trio of longtime friends came to the Potomac shoreline, looking for a way to remember the victims.

The Federal Aviation Administration heavily restricted helicopter traffic around the airport on Friday, hours after President Donald Trump claimed in a social media post that the helicopter had been flying higher than allowed.

NTSB member Todd Inman told reporters on Friday that investigators had interviewed at least one air traffic controller who was working when the crash happened. He said interviews were ongoing and that it was unclear how many controllers were on duty at the time.

Investigators will also examine staffing levels, training, hiring and other factors, in addition to looking at controllers’ records.

The FAA has long struggled with a shortage of air traffic controllers.

Officials say the helicopter’s maximum allowed altitude at the time was 200 feet though they have not said whether it had exceeded that limit.

But on Friday, one day after he questioned the helicopter pilot’s actions and blamed diversity initiatives for undermining air safety, Trump said the helicopter was ‘flying too high.’

‘It was far above the 200 foot limit. That’s not really too complicated to understand, is it???’ Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.

Wednesday’s crash was the deadliest in the U.S. since Nov. 12, 2001, when a jet slammed into a residential neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens, just after takeoff from Kennedy Airport. 

The crash killed all 260 people on board and five people on the ground. 

Experts regularly highlight that plane travel is overwhelmingly safe, but the crowded airspace around Reagan National can challenge even the most experiences pilots.