A former aide to President Joe Biden has been identified as one of the co-pilots behind Wednesday’s fatal collision between a Black Hawk helicopter and a regional American Airlines jetliner.
The pilot, Capt. Rebecca M. Lobach, had served as an Army aviation officer since July 2019. The Army said Saturday it had withheld her identity at the request of her family, adding in a statement, “We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Rebecca. She was a bright star in all our lives. She was kind, generous, brilliant, funny, ambitious and strong. No one dreamed bigger or worked harder to achieve her goals.”
Lobach, 28, was one of three people aboard a Black Hawk helicopter for a training mission on Wednesday evening when it collided with a regional American Airlines passenger jet as it attempted to land at Ronald Reagan National Airport. The other two crew members helicopter were Staff Sgt. Ryan O’Hara, 28, the crew’s chopper chief, and 39-year-old Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Eaves, the instructor pilot-in-charge.
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In a statement also released on Saturday, Lobach’s parents recounted her work in Biden’s White House, saying she had been “honored to serve as a White House Military Social Aide, volunteering to support the president and first lady in hosting countless White House events.” They said those events included “ceremonies awarding the Medal of Honor and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.”
The Durham native’s background was scrutinized by some conservatives due to the Army’s delay in disclosing her identity. Her father, David Franklin Lobach, is a prominent faculty member at Duke University, where he serves as an associate professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health. The local CBS affiliate said it “briefly” contacted him, but that the family “did not want to comment.”
Footage captured weeks before the crash showed Lobach escorting the fashion-designed Ralph Lauren at a White House ceremony on Jan. 4, when Biden awarded him with a Presidential Medal of Freedom.
The Army, the National Transportation Safety Board, and other federal agencies are still investigating the crash. Control tower data indicated the Army helicopter was flying at 200 feet when the accident occurred, but a flight data recorder from the passenger jet suggested that the aircraft was at least 100 feet higher — outside of the approved range.
The Army said Lobach had more than 450 hours of time flying Black Hawk aircraft, while Eaves had a little more than 1,000. All 64 people on the passenger jet were killed, along with the three crew members on the helicopter.
You can watch the Jan. 4 video of Rebecca Lobach escorting Ralph Lauren at the White House above.