Army Identifies Third Crash Victim as a Former WH Aide for Joe Biden [WATCH]

The U.S. Army has identified Captain Rebecca M. Lobach, 28, of Durham, North Carolina, as the third crew member aboard the Black Hawk helicopter that collided with an American Airlines flight earlier this week near Reagan National Airport.

You just couldn’t make this up.

Rebecca Lobach, co-pilot of the Black Hawk, previously worked as a White House aide for Biden. pic.twitter.com/Pt6qteMKa6

— National Conservative (@NatCon2022) February 1, 2025

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The crash resulted in the deaths of all three Black Hawk crew members and all 64 passengers and crew aboard the commercial aircraft.

Lobach, a member of the 12th Aviation Battalion based at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, had served in the Army since July 2019.

The Army initially withheld her identity at the request of her family but later confirmed her name in coordination with them.

“We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Rebecca. She was a bright star in all our lives,” her family said in a statement.

“Rebecca was a warrior and would not hesitate to defend her country in battle … Rebecca was many things. She was a daughter, sister, partner, and friend. She was a servant, a caregiver, an advocate. Most of all she loved and was loved. Her life was short, but she made a difference in the lives of all who knew her,” the statement continued.

Lobach began her military career in 2018 when she enlisted in the North Carolina Army National Guard while attending college.

She participated in the Simultaneous Membership Program, which allows cadets to be part of both the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) and the National Guard.

She attended Sewanee: The University of the South, where she played basketball before transferring to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Lobach graduated in 2019 with a degree in biology and was recognized as a distinguished military graduate.

Her service record included multiple awards and commendations, including the Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, and the Army Service Ribbon.

Lobach also served as a White House social aide, where she assisted with high-profile events.

Just last month, she escorted designer Ralph Lauren through the White House during his Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony.

BLACK HAWK PILOT: She spent the last two years at the White House instead of flying? Why? pic.twitter.com/0FPopWNdWZ

— @amuse (@amuse) February 2, 2025

The Army previously identified the other two soldiers aboard the Black Hawk helicopter as Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Eaves, 39, of Great Mills, Maryland, and Staff Sergeant Ryan O’Hara, 28, of Lilburn, Georgia, who served as the aircraft’s crew chief.

According to a law enforcement official familiar with the recovery efforts, the remains of two of the three crew members—a man and a woman—were recovered from the wreckage on Friday.

The Black Hawk was operating out of Fort Belvoir and was on a training mission when the crash occurred.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed the details of the flight, stating it was “a routine annual retraining of night flights on a standard corridor for a continuity of government mission.”

“The military does dangerous things. It does routine things on a regular basis,” Hegseth said on Thursday.

Both the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have launched investigations into the cause of the crash.

Authorities continue to gather evidence and assess the sequence of events that led to the fatal collision.

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