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Posted

 Army identifies helicopter pilot Capt. Rebecca Lobach among 67 killed in DC plane collision. Here are some of their stories
David Williams Amanda Jackson Haley Britzky
By Alaa Elassar, Samantha Waldenberg, Taylor Galgano, David Williams, Amanda Jackson, Jessica Coacci and Haley Britzky, CNN
17 minute read
Updated 5:24 PM EST, Sat February 1, 2025

https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/31/us/dc-plane-crash-victims/index.html

 Female Black Hawk pilot ‘excelled in everything’

The female Black Hawk pilot who was co-piloting the aircraft when it collided with the passenger plane this week was a “driven and hardworking” officer who “was made for” Army aviation, those who knew her recalled to CNN on Saturday.

The Army officially identified the pilot as Capt. Rebecca Lobach, 28, one of the three-person crew inside the UH-60 Black Hawk. While the Army released the names of the other two soldiers on board the Black Hawk on Friday, Lobach’s name had been withheld at her family’s request.

CNN previously reported Lobach was co-piloting the Black Hawk at the time of the collision on Wednesday evening.

A statement released Saturday by the Lobach family called her a “bright star” who was “kind, generous, brilliant, funny, ambitious and strong.”

“Rebecca was a warrior and would not hesitate to defend her country in battle. But she was as graceful as she was fierce: in addition to her duties as an Army aviator, Rebecca was honored to serve as a White House Military Social Aide, volunteering to support the President and First Lady in hosting countless White House events, including ceremonies awarding the Medal of Honor and the Presidential Medal of Freedom,” the family’s statement said.

Capt. Bilal Kordab, an Army officer who recruited Lobach into the North Carolina National Guard while she was a student at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, told CNN Lobach was “a driven and hardworking individual that absolutely worked her tail off” to accomplish what she did.

“She was not handed anything. She was more than qualified for anything that she was able to accomplish,” Kordab said. “She excelled in everything,” including flight school. Lobach commissioned into the Army as an active-duty aviation officer from the ROTC program at UNC-Chapel Hill in 2019.

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Sabrina Bell, who now serves in Alaska but who previously served with Lobach in the same company at the 12th Aviation Battalion, told CNN Lobach was “head-over-heels motivated” from the moment she arrived at the unit.

As an officer, Lobach had a unique ability to connect with not only her soldiers but the leaders above her, Bell said. “I can easily say she is one of the best leaders that I have ever had,” Bell said.

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Posted
2 hours ago, Hagbard Celine said:

Army identifies helicopter pilot Capt. Rebecca Lobach among 67 killed in DC plane collision.

Certain mentally ill people are currently doing everything they can to destroy her reputation and her family.  Claiming she deliberately flew into the airplane, that she was working for the CIA, that she couldn’t afford her house, etc.   

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Posted

eaves 1000 hours

o'hara & lobach 500 hours each

training run was for "evacuation of potus/cabinet mission"

this was not training of "new" or "junior" pilots

imho the mh-60 boxes will be the tell

i remain of the opinion that the mh-60 was looking at the wrong jet either on approach to or departing runway 1

AND

the tower due to overtasking did not ask the mh-60 if they had the rj re-route from 1 to 33

AND

did the mh-60 have the rj traffic at 5 o'clock

 

salvage ops for the rj not yet underway

there is new data in this article

https://www.wbaltv.com/article/recovery-efforts-american-airlines-plane-crash-dc/63632198

 

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Posted (edited)

no clue but all of the army statements say all 3 had flown route 4 "many times"

we will find out what that means when the final report is negotiated then released

the comms in the mh-60 box will also be key

Edited by Hagbard Celine
Posted
11 minutes ago, Hagbard Celine said:

training run was for "evacuation of potus/cabinet mission"

If POTUS or a cabinet member is being evacuated via Black Hawk, something bad has gone down and I would speculate that DCA’s airspace would be closed so I’m not sure how realistic this training mission is. Seems like the protocol would be that if high level government officials need to be evacuated in an emergency that the first thing you do is close the DC airspace to commercial and private traffic.

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Posted
Just now, royiv said:

If POTUS or a cabinet member is being evacuated via Black Hawk, something bad has gone down and I would speculate that DCA’s airspace would be closed so I’m not sure how realistic this training mission is. Seems like the protocol would be that if high level government officials need to be evacuated in an emergency that the first thing you do is close the DC airspace to commercial and private traffic.

The training is probably more about teaching what things are done on the ground before and after the chopper's in the air, as in protocols and the specific order of things done and not done, where they're done, chains of command and documentation, that sort of thing.

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Posted

which begs the question why these missions were not being run between 2 and 4 am when there is no pax metal in the way

and why 100 or 200 vertical separation is even a thing

much less 1000 for all other traffic everywhere else in the world

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Posted
30 minutes ago, Hagbard Celine said:

and why 100 or 200 vertical separation is even a thing

This is the crux of the issue.  It's a too small margin given the state of the technology and the human element involved.  Previous incidents show that this accident was only a matter of time.

Posted
On 2/2/2025 at 10:01 AM, Hagbard Celine said:

eaves 1000 hours

o'hara & lobach 500 hours each

training run was for "evacuation of potus/cabinet mission"

this was not training of "new" or "junior" pilots

imho the mh-60 boxes will be the tell

i remain of the opinion that the mh-60 was looking at the wrong jet either on approach to or departing runway 1

AND

the tower due to overtasking did not ask the mh-60 if they had the rj re-route from 1 to 33

AND

did the mh-60 have the rj traffic at 5 o'clock

 

salvage ops for the rj not yet underway

there is new data in this article

https://www.wbaltv.com/article/recovery-efforts-american-airlines-plane-crash-dc/63632198

 

I think there was a second RJ circling to 33 or on final to 01 that was told to go around. I’d bet they saw that one. 

Winds were 17 gusting to 25 knots from the NW at the time of the collision meaning the Blackhawk was crabbed into the wind and away from the collision aircraft. It might also explain some of the drift issues away from the east shoreline. Perhaps overcorrection. 

Take that helmet above, add NVGs and the peripheral vision isn’t great. 

Calling the traffic in sight and intent to maintain visual separation puts a lot of the onus on the pilot who accepts that. 

Tower understaffed and typically busy as DCA always is. 

 

A lot of Swiss cheese holes lined up for a tragedy. 

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Posted (edited)

Chose this thread because the story of a Cessna going missing, over Alaska with ten people aboard, is likely to be a shitshow in the media.

Edited to say apparently the plane was in a holding pattern while the runway was being cleared when it fell off the radar.

”CNN — 

A Cessna plane with 10 people on board has gone missing during a flight in Alaska, according to local and state officials.

The plane, operated by Bering Air, was en route from Unalakleet to Nome, both cities in western Alaska separated by the Norton Sound inlet, according to the Alaska State Troopers.”

 

https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/07/us/alaska-cessna-bering-air-hnk/index.html

 

 

 

Edited by Willfully Horn
Posted
15 hours ago, Willfully Horn said:

Chose this thread because the story of a Cessna going missing, over Alaska with ten people aboard, is likely to be a shitshow in the media.

Edited to say apparently the plane was in a holding pattern while the runway was being cleared when it fell off the radar.

”CNN — 

A Cessna plane with 10 people on board has gone missing during a flight in Alaska, according to local and state officials.

The plane, operated by Bering Air, was en route from Unalakleet to Nome, both cities in western Alaska separated by the Norton Sound inlet, according to the Alaska State Troopers.”

 

https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/07/us/alaska-cessna-bering-air-hnk/index.html

 

 

 

They found the plane.  3 inside confirmed dead.  The 7 others are still missing

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Posted
32 minutes ago, FartingMonk said:

They found the plane.  3 inside confirmed dead.  The 7 others are still missing

Wait....wtf?  It crashed on land.  The wreckage is relatively intact.  How are 7 of the 10 "missing?"  They just walk off into the tundra or some shit?

Posted (edited)
6 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Wait....wtf?  It crashed on land.  The wreckage is relatively intact.  How are 7 of the 10 "missing?"  They just walk off into the tundra or some shit?

A. Big bada boom

B. Cannibalism

C. Bears/Wolves or bear wolves or wolf bears

D. Wreck not so intact

E. Math

Edited by Bevo
Posted
6 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Wait....wtf?  It crashed on land.  The wreckage is relatively intact.  How are 7 of the 10 "missing?"  They just walk off into the tundra or some shit?

Yeah.  I don't know.  I was watching the CBS evening news when it came up.  

Posted
56 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Wait....wtf?  It crashed on land.  The wreckage is relatively intact.  How are 7 of the 10 "missing?"  They just walk off into the tundra or some shit?

Maybe they went to the same place all those billions of missing Bering Sea snow crabs went.

Posted
1 hour ago, Bevo said:

A. Big bada boom

B. Cannibalism

C. Bears/Wolves or bear wolves or wolf bears

D. Wreck not so intact

E. Math

F. The start of next season of "Alone"

Posted

Missing Bering Air Plane Found in Alaska Sea Ice, No Survivors: Coast Guard

Published Feb 07, 2025 at 4:34 PM EST Updated Feb 07, 2025 at 7:56 PM EST
By Gabe Whisnant and Jesus Mesa
Deputy Weekend Editor
 
 

The U.S. Coast Guard for the Alaska maritime region reported on Friday that it located an aircraft matching the description of the missing Bering Air plane.

Just after 6:15 p.m. ET, the Coast Guard posted on X, formerly Twitter, that three individuals were found inside the plane and reported to be deceased. The plane was found 34 miles southeast of Nome on the sea ice of Norton Sound.

According to the Anchorage Daily News, Lt. Cmdr. Mike Salerno reported that rescuers reached the aircraft and found three individuals, all of whom were deceased. Salerno confirmed that there were no other survivors at the site of the crash.

Around 7:30 p.m., the Coast Guard posted on x that it has "ended its search for the missing plane."

The post continued, "The remaining 7 people are believed to be inside the aircraft but are currently inaccessible due to the condition of the plane. Our heartfelt condolences are with those affected by this tragic incident."

Earlier Friday, an "item of interest" was found in the search for the missing Bering Air plane, the U.S. Coast Guard announced.

The discovery came as search teams intensify efforts to locate the aircraft, which vanished Thursday while carrying 10 people. Alaska State Trooper Lt. Ben Endres said Friday at a news conference that the passengers on the plane are all adults.

Search and rescue teams in Alaska are intensifying efforts to locate a missing Bering Air flight that vanished on Thursday. The aircraft, a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan, was traveling from Unalakleet to Nome, a roughly 150-mile journey over the remote Norton Sound, when it disappeared from radar.

The Coast Guard reported that the plane experienced a rapid loss of elevation and speed before its signal was lost. Despite the circumstances, officials have stressed that the search remains an active rescue mission rather than a recovery effort.

Alan Brown, director of public affairs for the Alaska National Guard, emphasized that there were no immediate plans to change the status of the case to a recovery mission.

"This is still an active search and rescue effort," Brown told reporters on Friday.

He also confirmed that an "item of interest" had been spotted but declined to provide further details on whether it was plane debris or another significant clue.

The search operation has been extensive, with multiple agencies involved. The U.S. Coast Guard, Alaska Air National Guard and FBI are leading the efforts, with additional support from local search teams. Aircraft, including C-130 planes, have been deployed to scan the icy waters, while ground crews on snowmobiles continue to comb the coastline and tundra.

Weather conditions at the time of the disappearance included light snow and freezing drizzle near Nome Airport, though operations have benefited from improved conditions since Friday morning. The Coast Guard has deployed tracking buoys to monitor ice movement, which could provide valuable clues in locating the plane.

Authorities have also turned to technology to aid in the search. FBI agents are analyzing cellphone tracking data from passengers to help determine the aircraft's last known location. The Nome Volunteer Fire Department has urged residents to refrain from launching private search missions because of hazardous conditions in the area.

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