BREAKING: Female soldier inside doomed Black Hawk helicopter from DC crash now identified

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After initially refusing to identify the female soldier aboard the Black Hawk helicopter involved in the fatal mid-air collision at the request of her family, the U.S. Army has now released her identity.

From CBS News: One of three soldiers aboard a 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.

The Army said Lobach had served as an aviation officer in the Army since July 2019. She had been awarded the Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal and Army Service Ribbon.

Lobach was a native of Durham, North Carolina, and enlisted in the North Carolina Army National Guard while in college in December 2018, a friend, 1st Lt. Samantha Brown, told CBS News.

Lobach also served as a White House social aide during the Biden administration, Brown said. Just last month, she escorted Ralph Lauren through the White House when he was among those awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by former President Joe Biden.

Fox News correspondent Jennifer Griffin wrote, “Army releases name of co-pilot of Blackhawk helicopter: Captain Rebecca Lobach, a star ROTC student who graduated from UNC with top honors and wanted to attend medical school after her Army service. She had 500 hours of flying time, about 250 flights, considered on the high end for a Captain, according to Army officials.”

Lobach’s social media accounts were reportedly all deleted before her name was released.

Some photos posted to social media indicates Lobach attended “pride” events.

In a statement, Lobach’s family wrote, “Rebecca was many things. She was was a daughter, sister, partner, and friend. She was a servant, caregiver, an advocated. Most of all, she loved and was loved.”

One X user paying tribute to Lobach used a rainbow emoji in the post.

USA Today reporter Davis Winkie, an Army veteran and a friend of Lobach’s, posted the following tribute:

I’m heartbroken to share that my friend Capt. Rebecca Lobach died in Wednesday evening’s crash near DC’s National Airport. Rebecca was brilliant and fearless, a talented pilot and a PT stud. We trained and commissioned together from @UNCArmyROTC, and we had a lot of fun along the way, too.

We were both latecomers to the ROTC program, enrolling partway through the third year, and quickly bonded over being the new kids on the block.

Rebecca and I were in a training platoon together by coincidence during summer basic camp at Fort Knox in 2018. On “branch day,” when the cadets got to explore the different Army officer career paths, she and I were walking together through a field where a bunch of helicopters were parked.

She was a few feet in front of me when she stopped, turned, and pointed out an MH-6 Little Bird (an incredibly small helicopter!). She shot me a mischievous smile and said something like, “Think we can both fit?”

My dear readers: I am 6’6”, and Rebecca (a former college basketball player) is at least 5’8”. But I’ll be damned if we didn’t somehow stuff ourselves into that cockpit. My neck hurt, and I don’t think we would’ve been able to fly it very well, but we were both beaming in the selfie she took.

Our Linda’s Downbar trivia team — Two Man, Two Woman Wolfpack — was rarely victorious but was never defeated. “Not Last!” was our team motto. We sucked at the music round because all four of us had identical taste.

Rebecca played a crucial role in helping me navigate the hardest periods of my personal life. Our friend group sustained me and kept me engaged when every fiber of my being wanted to just go numb to this world. I owe her so much.

We stayed in touch after she commissioned as an active duty Black Hawk pilot, and I as an HR officer in the NC Army National Guard. After I went into journalism, she would call me when I wrote a funny or interesting story.

I wish we’d taken a photo together when we had lunch a year ago. I wish I’d remembered to invite her to a party I hosted a week ago. I wish she weren’t dead. You are so missed, Rebecca. This world won’t be the same without you.

The U.S. Army had previously announced the identities of the other two soldiers aboard the helicopter as Staff Sgt. Ryan Austin O’Hara, 28, of Lilburn, Georgia, and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves, 39, of Great Mills, Maryland.

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