Soldier identified in DC plane crash, data shows helicopter may have been too high

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - US Coast Guard, along with other search and rescue teams, operate near debris at the crash site in the Potomac River in a location given as Washington. — Pic by Reuters

WASHINGTON, Feb 2 — The US Army yesterday released the name of the third soldier who died on a Black Hawk helicopter that collided with an American Airlines passenger jet near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport this week, killing 67 people in all.

The soldier was identified as Captain Rebecca Lobach, of Durham, North Carolina. She was an aviation officer in the regular Army since 2019 and assigned to the 12th Aviation Battalion, Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

The Army had initially declined to identify Lobach, an unusual decision that the agency said was made at the request of the family.

But yesterday the Army said in a statement that Lobach’s family had agreed to release her name to the public.

“She was a bright star in all our lives,” her family said in a statement, noting that she worked as an advocate for victims of sexual assault and planned to become a doctor after her military service. “No one dreamed bigger or worked harder to achieve her goals.”

Meanwhile, investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board have determined the CRJ700 airplane was at 325 feet (91 meters), plus or minus 25 feet, at the time of impact, officials said at a evening news briefing yesterday.

The information was based on data recovered from the jet’s flight data recorder - the “black box” that tracks the aircraft’s movements, speed and other parameters.

The new detail suggests the Army helicopter was flying above 200 feet (61 meters), the maximum altitude for the route it was using.

Preliminary data indicates the control tower’s radar showed the helicopter at 200 feet at the time of the accident, though officials said the information has not been confirmed.

“That’s what our job is, to figure that out,” NTSB board member Todd Inman told reporters when asked what could explain the discrepancy.

Inman also said at yesterday’s briefing that the helicopter’s training flight would typically include the use of night-vision goggles.

“We do not know at this time if the night-vision goggles were actually being worn, nor what the setting may be,” he said. “Further investigation should be able to let us know if that occurred and what factor it may play in the overall accident.”

Data confirms that the air traffic controller alerted the helicopter to the presence of the CRJ700 about two minutes before the crash.

One second before impact, the crew aboard the American flight had a “verbal reaction,” according to the plane’s cockpit voice recorder, and flight data shows the plane’s nose began to rise, officials said.

The official said an automated radio transmission alerted “traffic, traffic, traffic,” was heard on the voice recorder and then sounds of the collision were heard before the recording ends.

The Army previously identified the other two soldiers killed in Wednesday’s crash as Staff Sergeant Ryan Austin O’Hara, 28, and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves, 39. The names of the 60 passengers and four crew members who died on the jet have not been officially released, although many have been identified through family and social media.

Crews are preparing to remove the wreckage of the aircraft from the Potomac River starting today. Forty-two bodies have been recovered thus far, the Washington, DC, fire department said yesterday. — Reuters