Free Republic

One of three soldiers aboard an Army Black Hawk helicopter that was involved in the 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...

Durham, NC — The U.S. Army has officially identified Capt. Rebecca M. Lobach of Durham, North Carolina, as the third soldier killed in Wednesday night’s tragic military aviation accident in Washington, D.C. Capt. Lobach, a distinguished alumna of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, was aboard a Black Hawk helicopter that collided with an American Airlines passenger jet before both aircraft plunged into the icy waters of the Potomac River. The Army’s announcement comes amid an ongoing investigation led by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).