The Army released the name of the third crew member on the military helicopter that collided with a passenger jet in DC, one day after taking the rare step of initially withholding it. On Saturday, the Pentagon identified Cpt. Rebecca M. Lobach of Durham, North Carolina, as the third soldier killed in the crash, reports CNN. Both CNN and Fox News say Lobach was co-piloting the helicopter under the instruction of pilot Andrew Eaves, 39. Both were being evaluated for their performance on the training mission.
"Not only did she deserve what she achieved, but she was overqualified most of the time for what she was able to accomplish," Capt. Bilal Kordab tells USA Today. "Nothing was just handed to her." He added that he hoped people "could look past the political aspect of the whole situation," a reference to President Trump assigning early blame to the helicopter crew as well as to DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) issues. Analysis of the aircrafts' black boxes is still underway and should shed light on what caused the crash.
Lobach's family asked the military to withhold her name at first, and the military said they released her name Saturday in coordination with the Lobachs. CBS News reports that Lobach also had served as a "social aide" for the White House under former President Biden. When Ralph Lauren was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Biden, she escorted the fashion giant through the White House. The third crew member on the helicopter was Staff Sgt. Ryan O'Hara. (More Potomac plane crash stories.)
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