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WASHINGTON (TNND) — The U.S. Army has released all the names of the Black Hawk helicopter crew who were involved in the deadly midair collision with an American Airlines flight in Washington D.C.
Cpt. Rebecca M. Lobach, of Durham, N.C., was the last to be named after her family requested her name be withheld for unknown reasons. The others were: Staff Sgt. Ryan Austin O’Hara, 28, of Lilburn, Georgia, who was the crew chief, and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves, 39, of Great Mills, Maryland, who was a pilot.
Lobach served as an aviation officer since July 2019 and earned several awards including the Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal and Army Service Ribbon, the Army said in a release.
Her family stated she was a distinguished military graduate in ROTC at the University of North Carolina and was in the top 20% of cadets nationwide. They said she had more than 450 hours of flight time, and earned "certification as a pilot-in-command after extensive testing by the most senior and experienced pilots in her battalion."
The family also noted that she served as a certified sexual harassment/assault response and prevention victim advocate and hoped to become a physician when she got out of the Army.
"We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Rebecca. She was a bright star in all our lives. She was kind, generous, brilliant, funny, ambitious and strong. No one dreamed bigger or worked harder to achieve her goals," the statement said, adding, “we request that you please respect our privacy as we grieve this devastating loss."
The passenger jet and helicopter crashed midair Wednesday night near Reagan National Airport (DCA), causing both aircraft to crash into the Potomac River.
The American Airlines plane coming from Wichita, Kansas, was carrying 60 passengers and four crew members, federal officials said. Authorities have now identified 55 of the 67 victims, as efforts continue to locate remaining passengers.
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