DC Plane Crash: Army identifies soldier as investigators uncover altitude breach

The U.S. Army has identified Captain Rebecca Lobach as one of the three soldiers killed in the Black Hawk helicopter crash near Washington, D.C. this week. The mid-air collision with an American Airlines jet claimed 67 lives.

Lobach, 29, was an aviation officer stationed at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. She had served in the Army since 2019 and was passionate about advocacy for sexual assault victims. Her family described her as “a bright star” who had dreams of becoming a doctor after her military service.

The Army had initially withheld her name at the family’s request but released it on Saturday. “No one dreamed bigger or worked harder to achieve her goals,” her family said in a statement.

Meanwhile, investigators say flight data recovered from the American Airlines CRJ700 jet shows it was flying at approximately 325 feet (91 meters) at the time of impact. The new evidence suggests the Army helicopter was above 200 feet (61 meters), exceeding the permitted altitude for its route.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is continuing its investigation into the crash, focusing on whether the Black Hawk’s altitude played a role in the fatal collision.

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