Washington (AP) – an American army captain who died Wednesday outdoor collision Of a Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines plane was “brilliant and intrepid” and “meticulous in everything she has done,” said friends and her colleagues soldiers.
Captain Rebecca M. Lobach was identified by the army on Saturday as one of the three soldiers killed in the accident near Reagan National Airport, just outside Washington, DC, 67 people died, Including the 60 jet passengers and 4 crew members.
Lobach, from Durham, in North Carolina, has been an aviation officer of the army since July 2019, winning a medal of Élogieuse de la army and a success medal after having graduated from the University of Caroline From the North as a distinguished military graduate in the 20% of ROTC cadets at the national level of the country at the country’s national level, said his family.
Last month, she escorted the fashion designer Ralph Lauren to the White House when he was honored with the presidential medal of freedom.
The correspondent of the White House USA TODAY, Davis Winkie, formed with Lobach in the ROTC program of the University of North Carolina. They were in the same training peloton at Fort Knox, Kentucky, in 2018, and have been friends since.
“Rebecca was brilliant and intrepid, a talented pilot and a Pt”, Winkie stud written in an article on social networksUsing an abbreviation for physical training.
In a press release published by the army, the Lobach family said they had more than 450 hours of flight and obtained “certification as a pilot in order after tests in depth by the oldest and most experienced from his battalion ”.
The army released Friday, the names of the two other black Hawk soldiers, but retained the name of Lobach until Saturday at the request of his family. Sgt of staff. Ryan Austin O’Hara, 28, from Lilburn, in Georgia, was the head of the crew. The chief adjutant 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves, 39, from Great Mills, Maryland, was a pilot.
Lobach “was a patriot, she loved her country”, her close friend, Sam Brown, said WNCN-TV.
Lexi Freas attributed to Lobach mentoring for having inspired him to become an aviation officer in the District of the Columbia National Guard.
“Not only did she care to be a leader and be the best officer she could, but also to be the best pilot she could,” Freas told Raleigh station, North Carolina .
Another friend, Sabrina Bell, said Lobach “was meticulous in everything she was doing, she never did anything without enthusiasm, she never did anything impulsively.”
The Lobach family noted that she was a defender of victims of victim of sexual harassment and certified assault and hoped to become a doctor when she left the army.
“We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Rebecca. She was a brilliant star in all our lives. She was kind, generous, shiny, funny, ambitious and strong. No one dreamed or worked harder to achieve their goals, ”said the press release.
“We ask you to respect our privacy while we mourn this devastating loss,” added the Lobach family.
After the accident, President Donald Trump blamed the helicopter for having stolen at an overly high altitude, saying: “You had a pilot problem from the helicopter point of view. I mean, because it was visual, it was a very clear night. »»
The remarks, combined with Trump diatriber on diversity initiatives In the ranks of the air traffic controller, only added to speculation on social networks, disinformation and vitriol on the composition of the Black Hawk crew. No evidence emerged that the rules of diversity took into account the collision.
Former military recruiter Bilal Kordab said wral-tv This lobach was nice, intelligent and “put so much pressure on itself to be the best of the best and make an additional effort”.
Before transferring to the University of North Carolina, Lobach played the university basketball from Division III at the University of the South.
Winkie said he and Lobach were both latecomers from the ROTC program “and quickly became new to be the new children on the block”.
One day, when he taught Fort Knox on various career paths as an army officer, Winkie said he and Lobach had occurred on a small helicopter called MH-6 Little Bird.
Winkie, which measures 6 feet 6 inches (2 meters) in height, said Lobach – registered at 5 feet 7 inches (1.7 meters) in his university basketball days – smiled playful and asked: “Think that we can both adapt? “
“I will be damned if we have not sort of placed in this cockpit,” Winkie wrote in tribute to Lobach on X, formerly known as Twitter. “My neck hurt me, and I don’t think we could have piloted it very well, but we both radiate in the selfie she took.”
Winkie wrote that shortly after Wednesday’s crash, he sent a text to Lobach, asking: “Do you well?” He said he only realized the next day that the message had not passed.
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Sisak has reported to New York.
