NYT Admits It: Female Blackhawk Pilot Rejected Male Co-Pilot's Life-Saving Directive 15 Seconds Before Fireball Erupted
The New York Times waited until the very end of its lengthy story about the January collision between a U.S. Army helicopter and a passenger jet in Washington, D.C., to reveal that the female copter pilot failed to follow her male flight instructor’s direction, leading to the tragedy.
Army Capt. Rebecca M. Lobach was taking part in her annual flight evaluation on the night of Jan. 29.
“That night, her assignment was to navigate the conditions of a scenario in which members of Congress or other senior government officials might need to be carried out of the nation’s capital during an attack,” the Times reported Sunday.
“Captain Lobach was the highest-ranking soldier on the helicopter, but Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves, who was acting as her instructor, had flown more than twice as many hours over time,” the outlet added.
The Army said in a news release that Lobach became an aviation officer in 2019, and her family said in a statement included in the release that she had over 450 flight hours.
REPORT: The female pilot flying the Black Hawk helicopter that collided with an American Airlines flight, made multiple mistakes and ignored a warning from her co-pilot, according to the New York Times.
Tragic.
The New York Times reports that there were multiple mistakes made… pic.twitter.com/duetUVd16J
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) April 27, 2025
Lobach’s training route eventually took her along the Potomac River and near Reagan National Airport.
The flight controller at the airport instructed the helicopter to pass behind American Airlines Flight 5342, which was coming in for a landing.
“PAT two-five, do you have the CRJ in sight?” he asked, using the abbreviation for the model of Flight 5342’s aircraft, Canadair Regional Jet, according to the Times.
“Some former military pilots said that by issuing a proactive command to pass behind the jet, the controller was going above and beyond his obligations, especially under see-and-avoid conditions, and that an experienced Black Hawk crew should have known what to do without help,” the outlet said.
Nonetheless, some regulators and controllers told the Times the controller could have been even more proactive, such as providing the distance in feet between the two aircraft.
However, instead of seeing and avoiding Flight 5342, Lobach just kept flying straight ahead.
Warrant Officer Eaves told the tower that the Black Hawk saw the traffic: “PAT two-five has the aircraft in sight. Request visual separation,” meaning they would avoid the airline jet.
“Vis sep approved,” the controller responded.
At this point, the Blackhawk was 15 seconds away from crossing paths with Flight 5342.
Eaves told Lobach to turn left, toward the east bank of the Potomac.
She did not follow his instructions, and the two aircraft collided, killing 64 passengers and crew on Flight 5342, as well as Lobach, Eaves, and a crewmember on their helicopter.
Many have suggested on social media that DEI was to blame for the crash. That we do not know. It’s worth looking into whether Lobach was being held to a lesser standard because she was a woman, and perhaps checked another DEI box or two.
“DEI ENDS LIVES”: UPDATE ON BLACK HAWK CRASH
“The pilot, Rebecca Lobach…ignored orders and warnings to move or get out of the way or to descend right before she crashed into the airplane.” @JackPosobiec pic.twitter.com/EJpAjAaZCU— Real America’s Voice (RAV) (@RealAmVoice) April 28, 2025
Regardless, it would appear that pilot error was the cause of the crash, which even the Times finally got around to reporting.
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