DCA - American Airlines passenger plane collides with Blackhawk over the Potomac River, all 67 on both dead, 29 Jan 2025

[Chimera]

U.S. Army identifies the third soldier killed in the Blackhawk helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Jan. 29. Capt. Rebecca Lobach served as a aviation officer.

@TomNovelly

"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," her family said in a statement

https://twitter.com/x/status/1885814765794079222

One of 3 soldiers aboard Black Hawk chopper involved in midair collision identified as longtime aviation officer

One of three soldiers aboard an Army Black Hawk helicopter that was involved in the deadly midair collision outside Washington, D.C., was identified as Capt. Rebecca Lobach.

www.cbsnews.com

Rest in peace, Capt. Rebecca Lobach , Staff Sgt. Ryan O'Hara, and Chief Warrant Offcr. Andrew Eaves !
Thank you all for your service to this country.

From your link : Lobach had three medals and an Army Service ribbon in her brief career. She was an experienced pilot.

I'm wondering more now if the altimeters were faulty ?
Awful if so.
Omo.

 

[windrower]

DBM

 

[Seattle1]

Crewchief was the other pair of eyes.

Elizabeth McCormick, a former Black Hawk pilot, told CNN’s Jake Tapper Thursday that having a crew of three on the ill-fated flight was inadequate, asserting that such a crew couldn’t see in all directions.

“You only have visibility from the front 180 degrees. Your crew chiefs clear the back,” McCormick said. “If you only have one crew chief, how much can you clear? I think that was a major issue.”

Even if the helicopter were at a proper level, the crew still would have needed to be able to have visual contact with all nearby aircraft. “Obviously, ultimately the aircraft has to pass through this 200-foot altitude in order to land,” former commercial pilot Jeff Huddleston said.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/31/us/black-hawk-helicopter-plane-collision-investigation-wwk/index.html

 

[Herat]

Elizabeth McCormick, a former Black Hawk pilot, told CNN’s Jake Tapper Thursday that having a crew of three on the ill-fated flight was inadequate, asserting that such a crew couldn’t see in all directions.

“You only have visibility from the front 180 degrees. Your crew chiefs clear the back,” McCormick said. “If you only have one crew chief, how much can you clear? I think that was a major issue.”

Even if the helicopter were at a proper level, the crew still would have needed to be able to have visual contact with all nearby aircraft. “Obviously, ultimately the aircraft has to pass through this 200-foot altitude in order to land,” former commercial pilot Jeff Huddleston said.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/31/us/black-hawk-helicopter-plane-collision-investigation-wwk/index.html

So the setup of 3 in the Blackhawk was already failing as a method of readiness in the event of a catastrophic attack on the US Capital?

If it can mistakenly run straight into a commercial airliner about 7 times it's weight and size, under good weather and good communications, the Army should be taken to task for their incompetency.

 

[Simply Southern]

NTSB Live press conference
Wow lots of info

 

[cledco]

Rest in peace, Capt. Rebecca Lobach , Staff Sgt. Ryan O'Hara, and Chief Warrant Offcr. Andrew Eaves !
Thank you all for your service to this country.

From your link : Lobach had three medals and an Army Service ribbon in her brief career. She was an experienced pilot.

I'm wondering more now if the altimeters were faulty ?
Awful if so.
Omo.

There's honestly very little to be gleaned one way or the other from the awards listed. The Army Service Ribbon is given to literally every single person who enlists, that's what it's for. Anyone who enlisted between 9/11 and the end of 2022 got a National Defense Service Medal, which is for enlisting in wartime. An Army Achievement Medal (AAM) can be for just about anything; I've got I think five of them, two for things I would consider actual achievements, others as blanket awards for just showing up. Same goes for the Army Commendation Medal (ARCOM), though the bar is usually higher.

 

[bestill]

What an absolute badass

View attachment 562057

Redirect Notice

Lobach’s friends describe her as giving, fun, and “golden,” saying she was a bright light, a capable pilot, and good friend.

Friends who went through ROTC with Lobach at UNC Chapel Hill say she was up for a challenge and determined. Every one of them pointed out her status as a distinguished military graduate, meaning she was in the top 20% of all cadets across the country.

“She was a patriot, she loved her country,” said Sam Brown, a close friend of Lobach’s. “She was everything I wanted to be, and then to like have her as one of my best friends, to this day, we were so fortunate.”

Her family also listed her highest achievements in their statement. Among them were

Achieving the rank of Captain,
Serving twice as a Platoon Leader and as a Company Executive Officer in the 12th Aviation Battalion at Davison Army Airfield in Fort Belvoir, Virginia,
Serving as a White House Military Social Aide,
Accumulating more than 450 hours of flight time, and
Earning a certification as a pilot-in-command after extensive testing by the most senior and experienced pilots in her battalion

When I read this it really did give me a bit of a gut check. She's accomplished as I am sure the rest of the crew were too. There were many that lost their life and they were also considered a "bad ass" to someone. This entire event is a tragedy. So much pain, just sad. All JMO

 

[Simply Southern]

Link to press conference very detailed and informative

https://twitter.com/x/status/1885821403074527518

 

[theonewithallthequestions]

"Not only did she deserve what she achieved, but she was overqualified most of the time for what she was able to accomplish," said Capt. Bilal Kordab, who recruited Lobach to the North Carolina National Guard. "Nothing was just handed to her."
<modsnip - political>

For her friends in college and in service, she was a baker of delicious bagels and a "sounding board" for on-point advice, according to Bell. She devoured books on topics from meditation to psychology and churned out book recommendations for her friends, sometimes offering unprompted to buy them a copy. She had a vocabulary full of "$10 words," said Lt. Samantha Brown, a close friend who near Lobach for years after they met at UNC.

"How do you sum up 28 years of a person?" asked Brown, who is now assigned to a Special Operations Command unit. "28 years old and gone violently...it's the worst possible thing."

'Earned her place': Friends grieve Rebecca Lobach, US Army pilot killed in DC crash

The Army withheld the name of Capt. Rebecca Lobach, the US Army pilot killed in a disastrous crash on Wednesday, for an extra day.

www.yahoo.com

Just heartbreaking. Rest in peace Capt. Rebecca Lobach

 

[Tiff23fr]

Lobach graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in biology in 2019. A distinguished military graduate, she was in the top 20% of cadets in the nation, according to the Army.

ETA: Lobach's service extended beyond the military – she was a certified victim advocate with SHARP, the Army's Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention program, and a White House military social aide.

'Earned her place': Friends grieve Rebecca Lobach, US Army pilot killed in DC crash

The Army withheld the name of Capt. Rebecca Lobach, the US Army pilot killed in a disastrous crash on Wednesday, for an extra day.

www.yahoo.com

 

[theonewithallthequestions]

Cpt. Rebecca Lobach escorted Ralph Lauren last month

https://twitter.com/x/status/1885817206262616183

 

[Tiff23fr]

I have no knowledge of the training or operations inside a heli/ATC/etc. Am I understanding these reports correctly that she was not only an experienced pilot but a top 20% pilot (or is top 20% cadet a different metric)?
To someone with knowledge, how does this impact your perception of this event? Does it at all?
(Set aside anything race, gender, etc. - I am curious based on the metrics/experience)

'Earned her place': Friends grieve Rebecca Lobach, US Army pilot killed in DC crash

The Army withheld the name of Capt. Rebecca Lobach, the US Army pilot killed in a disastrous crash on Wednesday, for an extra day.

www.yahoo.com

 

[cledco]

I have no knowledge of the training or operations inside a heli/ATC/etc. Am I understanding these reports correctly that she was not only an experienced pilot but a top 20% pilot. To someone with knowledge, how does this impact your perception of this event? Does it all? I have not clue in this one and just hope its a horrible accident we learn all we can from.

'Earned her place': Friends grieve Rebecca Lobach, US Army pilot killed in DC crash

The Army withheld the name of Capt. Rebecca Lobach, the US Army pilot killed in a disastrous crash on Wednesday, for an extra day.

www.yahoo.com

She was a top 20% cadet. Most of what's specific to an officer's particular branch (infantry, armor, avation, etc.) doesn't begin until after graduation and commissioning.

 

[Deleted member 39678]

Link to press conference very detailed and informative

https://twitter.com/x/status/1885821403074527518

I just finished watching the NTSB press conference. I found the reporters questions to be very poor. Some seemed to have not been following this accident very closely at all and asked poor questions. Others had a hard time understanding the information being given and keep asking the same thing over and over even when explained in a way a child could figure it out. JMO.

 

[Luna20]

I'll never forget the words of an elderly father who was waiting for his daughter's flight to land in South Korea a few weeks ago. The plane was preparing to land and his 40-something daughter texted him just before landing, but as they were about to land a flock of birds flew into the engine and the plane crashed and 179 people lost their lives. A journalist interviewed him at the airport as he waited and learned of the plane's - and his daughter's - fate. His words to the journalist were "she was almost home." I don't think I'll ever forget that image and those words.

I didn’t see this in the news. What airline was it?

 

[Simply Southern]

I just finished watching the NTSB press conference. I found the reporters questions to be very poor. Some seemed to have not been following this accident very closely at all and asked poor questions. Others had a hard time understanding the information being given and keep asking the same thing over and over even when explained in a way a child could figure it out. JMO.

I'm confused about the 325' +/- reading for the AA and the 200' reading was that the Blackhawk or the reading in the control tower? I interpreted it as the tower.

Did you note the AA runway change to 33 was 4 mins before the crash...."after a discussion between the crew and tower". Wondering about the discussion.

Hope they have a transcript soon so I can visualize the times.

Edited to add a better link.

Moo

 

[SouthAussie]

The reason why two pilots are required (according to this military.com article and the Black Hawk pilot who is interviewed) is that both hands and both feet are required to fly the aircraft, while keeping a close eye on the horizon and your altitude (visually and by instrument panel), while "messing with" 6 or 7 radios, while scanning the ground for familiar landmarks, and while checking the GPS instruments.

He says you are using everything, so two pilots are required.

Ref: retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Darin Gaub who flew Black Hawks for 22 years.

Midair Collision Draws Attention to Military Helicopter Training and Previous Accidents

The training of U.S. military helicopter pilots is getting heightened attention following the midair collision between an Army Black Hawk helicopter and a passenger jet.

www.military.com

 

[Deleted member 39678]

I'm confused about the 325' +/- reading for the AA and the 200' reading was that the Blackhawk or the reading in the control tower? I interpreted it as the tower.

Did you note the AA runway change to 33 was 4 mins before the crash...."after a discussion between the crew and tower". Wondering about the discussion.

Hope they have a transcript soon so I can visualize the times.

Moo

You have the altitude information right, it's preliminary info of what the tower could see the helicopters altitude was at. Obviously if the CRJ's known altitude at the time of the collision was around 325 feet the helicopter was also at that same altitude.

I'm guessing the NTSB brought up the lower altitude seen by ATC in an attempt to minimize perceived controller error by the public. Not sure that's a good thing for them to be doing.

From listening to ATC audio there wasn't much of a discussion about the CRJ changing to runway 33 other than ATC asking if they would accept that and after about a 20 second wait they said okay. JMO.

 

[Simply Southern]

It's horrifying learning the crew of the AA knew the helicopter was going to hit them. They made an audible comment and the plane explosion was heard on the recording. They had one second and tried evasive action.

 

[Tiff23fr]

I'm confused about the 325' +/- reading for the AA and the 200' reading was that the Blackhawk or the reading in the control tower? I interpreted it as the tower.

Did you note the AA runway change to 33 was 4 mins before the crash...."after a discussion between the crew and tower". Wondering about the discussion.

Hope they have a transcript soon so I can visualize the times.

Edited to add a better link.

Moo

Would you be willing to break this down? Are these abnormalities, etc.

From your post:
I'm confused about the 325' +/- reading for the AA and the 200' reading was that the Blackhawk or the reading in the control tower?

Did you note the AA runway change to 33 was 4 mins before the crash...."after a discussion between the crew and tower"