Posted on 02/01/2025 2:52:14 PM PST by TigerClaws
The U.S. Army has identified the female soldier in the doomed Black Hawk helicopter which crashed into an American Airlines flight this week, killing more than 60 people.
Capt. Rebecca M. Lobach, of Durham, North Carolina, was assigned to the 12th Aviation Battalion in Fort Belvoir, Virginia, who served since July 2019, the Army said in a statement.
The Army had initially refused to identify Lobach at the request of her family.
The decision to release her name came “at the request of and in coordination with the family,” according to the statement.
“We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Rebecca. She was a bright star in all our lives,” her family said in a statement released by the Army. “Rebecca was a warrior and would not hesitate to defend her country in battle.”
This is a developing story.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Captain +200 AGL
Captain, my ass.
Does anyone here know if the military (and police and government) allow privacy to anyone whose family requests it?
So far, in all the sources used for the various threads here, the media has taken a temporary break from using the word “pilot” or “pilots” when writing about this event.
What does 200 all mean?
Do you think she was not a Capt
Interesting she as a Capt was junior to a Warrant pilot
It’s only an 0-3. She was probably up for 0-4 soon.
As I posted a couple hours ago, the name would be known by Monday. Ahead of schedule, I figured it would be leaked.
A 4channer referred to her as “BlackHawk Tuah.”
This is the crew that would fly, say, President Trump to safety to get to Air Force One in the event of a nuclear attack on our government. It’s the “chain of command” escape crew.
Does anyone here know if the military (and police and government) allow privacy to anyone whose family requests it?
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The military reported they have a 72 hour procedure, but I never heard of such a rule in my 30 years of service regarding a deceased service member. What it did it gave them 70 hours to scrub the social sites and other records.
idk about scrub, but certainly gave them time to research her background.
Fair play imo, since there is some speculation this was a deliberate act.
They were a half mile right of course on their charted Route 4 they were supposed to be on — and AT LEAST 100 feet high, probably 150 feet high (max 200 AGL).
And yes, they did get a specific heads-up on the exact conflicting traffic - listen at 1:32
“PAT25, traffic just south of the Woodrow Bridge, a CRJ it’s 1200 feet setting up for Runway 33”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiOybe-NJHk
bttt
There is a you tube video where a female helicopter pilot noted that the helicopter was short one crew member. She said they are supposed to have a person on each side watching for traffic.
I can’t hate the helo pilot enough.
“Interesting she as a Capt was junior to a Warrant pilot”
Was the Warrant in command?
“It’s only an 0-3. She was probably up for 0-4 soon”
No she wasnt. 8 years or so.
*The single-greatest error in this accident was the decision to fly without a second Crew Chief on the left-hand side of the Blackhawk, who could have provided an extra set of eyes to “look out-and-up” to see the approaching American Airlines Passenger plane.
*Night Vision Goggle (NVG) flights result in a sort-of “tunnel vision” for all who wear the NVGs and normal policy in many Army flight units is to force a full crew of 2 pilots and 2 crew chiefs for all NVG flights, so that you always have “eyes out” to both sides of the aircraft, when flying in those conditions. While not mandatory, it is the proper safety call, especially when flying in the vicinity of a busy, major airport such as Reagan Airport (DCA). No matter how competent the pilots and Crew Chiefs may be, this flight needed a second Crew Chief on the left side of the chopper.
*The front-left pilot, even if not wearing Night Vision Goggles, would still have limited visibility out the left door, and if that pilot is busy with radio calls, or referencing the map/GPS, that pilot could get consumed by work inside the cockpit, instead of looking out and around.
*Flight Unit Leadership failed to recognize the need for a second Crew Chief in the Mission Planning and Risk Assessment Process. This is where either incompetence, or DEI (or both), may have come into play. This was certainly poor leadership.
*Known mistakes by the Blackhawk Flight Crew point to a lack of experience and/or competence. We’ve heard in the media that both pilots were “experienced.” This is just not true. Someone is “blowing smoke” to the media, to President Trump, and to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, to “cover their ass.” The collective level of experience of the pilots was not impressive. Their level of experience is like comparing a rookie in the NFL to a second-year player. The pilot had the experience of a second-year player, while the co-pilot was a rookie. This was NOT an experienced crew to be flying at night, near a major airport, without a second crew chief.
*Radio calls were not responded to by the Blackhawk crew, and they flew at 350 Feet above ground level (AGL), whereas reports say they were supposed to fly at 200 Feet AGL. These two mistakes alone show that the crew were not as experienced or professional as reported to President Trump, Defense Secretary Hegseth, or the media.
*The Instructor Pilot may have been too inexperienced for this “Annual Evaluation” flight, as mistakes were clearly made during the course of the flight (that are assumed to have been made by the junior pilot being evaluated). Why didn’t the Instructor Pilot notice they were flying too high and off course? That points to his lack of experience. If there had been a second Crew Chief, he could have noticed these mistakes and warned the pilots.
*The Flight Unit Commanders must share the blame, and they’re still alive! There is a 12th Aviation Battalion commander of that B Company, and I don’t know who that is, but this individual was the first leader in the chain of events for the Mission Plan and Risk Assessment to get signed off and approved. This B Company commander should be asked why they did not enforce a second Crew Chief to be on that flight.
*Accident sequences for these types of accidents begin in “Mission Planning,” when first selecting the time you will fly, where you will fly for the Annual Evaluation, and what crew members will be on the flight. Any of the Leaders in that unit’s Chain of Command could have demanded that this flight have two Crew Chiefs aboard the aircraft, due to NVG flying conditions, plus the busy airspace of Reagan airport.
*An experienced, thoughtful leader knows when to “raise the standard” and force the mission to have that second Crew Chief aboard the aircraft. This was clearly one of those moments, and both the B Company Commander and the 12th Aviation Battalion Commander failed to see through this risk problem and impose their own “Risk Reduction” to include a second Crew Chief to manage the left-hand side of the Blackhawk.
*In my opinion, even with all these mistakes that were made, a Crew Chief on the left side of the Blackhawk would still have saved them in that last 20 seconds when that American Airlines flight was approaching on the left-hand side. A Crew Chief in that seat would have warned the pilots to turn and descend immediately.
This accident was completely avoidable. Thank you to my friend Colonel Joe for this thoughtful analysis.
I found it rather offending that they claimed they were withholding her name at the request of her family, especially in light of the fact that they so quickly identified the two white men on board with her. It's sad that this happened, but these people work for us, are paid by us, and we deserve transparency when things like this happen.
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