DC Crash: Female Black Hawk Pilot Failed to Heed Male Instructor’s Warning to Turn Away From Plane
Chris Menahan
InformationLiberation
Black Hawk helicopter pilot Captain Rebecca Lobach, 28, failed to heed her male flight instructor’s warning to turn away from an oncoming passenger plane before crashing into the aircraft over the Potomac River earlier this year, killing 67.
That’s according to leaked results from the National Transportation Safety Board-led investigation into the deadly crash, which were shared on Sunday by the New York Times.
REPORTER: I’m trying to figure out how you can come to the conclusion right now that diversity had something to do with this crash
TRUMP: Because I have common sense, ok? And unfortunately a lot of people don’t pic.twitter.com/bVph92zAFG
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 30, 2025
As they flew south along the Potomac River on the gusty night of Jan. 29, the crew aboard an Army Black Hawk helicopter attempted to execute a common aviation practice. It would play a role in ending their lives.
Shortly after the Black Hawk passed over Washington’s most famous array of cherry trees, an air traffic controller at nearby Ronald Reagan National Airport alerted the crew to a regional passenger jet in its vicinity. The crew acknowledged seeing traffic nearby.
One of the pilots then asked for permission to employ a practice called “visual separation.” That allows a pilot to take control of navigating around other aircraft, rather than relying on the controller for guidance.
“Visual separation approved,” the controller replied.
The request to fly under those rules is granted routinely in airspace overseen by controllers. Most of the time, visual separation is executed without note. But when mishandled, it can also create a deadly risk — one that aviation experts have warned about for years.