The third pilot of the Black Hawk helicopter which fatally collided with a passenger plane in Washington DC has been identified as ‘brilliant warrior’ Rebecca M Lobach.
Her name had previously not been released publicly, in an unusual decision which the US Army said came at the request of her loved ones.
Last night they said they had agreed to release her name, however, and published a statement from them saying: ‘We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Rebecca.’
Captain Lobach had served as an army aviation officer since July 2019 and was recognised as a top performer, with awards including an army commendation medal and an achievement medal.
Before this, she had worked as an army aide in the previous administration of Joe Biden, helping to host events at the White House.
She advocated for victims of sexual assault, and hoped to go on to become a doctor after leaving the armed forces.
Her family said: ‘She was a bright star in all our lives. Rebecca was a warrior and would not hesitate to defend her country in battle.’
They said their daughter, from Durham in North Carolina, was ‘kind, generous, brilliant, funny, ambitious and strong.’
Rebecca Lobach had worked as a White House aide in the Biden administration (Picture: Samanatha Brown)
Wednesday night’s crash, which killed 67, was the deadliest in the US for almost 25 years.
There were no survivors from the collision, which occurred as an American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas, carrying 64 people was preparing to land at Ronald Reagan National Airport.
The jet hit an Army Black Hawk helicopter that apparently flew into its path just across the Potomac River from the nation’s capital.
The family’s statement came after US President Donald Trump veered into politics to speculate that Democrats and diversity initiatives shared blame for the deaths.
Speaking from the White House, just over three miles from the scene, he said it was too soon to draw conclusions as he encouraged the nation to pray for the victims.
But he moved nonetheless to attack political opponents and speculate that diversity initiatives contributed to the crash: ‘The FAA is actively recruiting workers who suffer severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems and other mental and physical conditions under a diversity and inclusion hiring initiative spelled out on the agency’s website.’
He added that the programme allowed for the hiring of people with hearing and vision issues as well as paralysis, epilepsy and ‘dwarfism’.
Mr Trump said air traffic controllers needed to be geniuses: ‘You can’t have regular people doing their job.’
He said he had no evidence to support his claims that diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and hiring preferences played a role in the crash, allowing that ‘it just could have been’.
He defended doing so ‘because I have common sense’.
The names of the two other soldiers on board the Black Hawk were released on Friday.
They were Staff Sgt Ryan Austin O’Hara, 28, of Lilburn, Georgia, who was the crew chief, and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves, 39, of Great Mills, Maryland, who was a pilot.
By yesterday afternoon, the remains of 42 people had been pulled from the river, including 38 that had been positively identified.
Officials expect to recover all of the remains, although the wreckage of the plane’s fuselage will probably have to be pulled from the water to retrieve all the bodies.
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