A new report claims that the pilot of the Black Hawk helicopter that collided with an American Airlines airplane in January near the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington, D.C., ignored instructions from air traffic controllers to change course just prior to the fatal collision.
The New York Times reported that Capt. Rebecca Lobach, the pilot of the Black Hawk involved in January’s fatal collision that killed 67 individuals, was undergoing her yearly flight evaluation at the time of the collision. The outlet noted that Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves was operating as Lobach’s flight instructor at the time of the incident.
According to The New York Times, the Black Hawk helicopter was warned by air traffic controllers that a passenger airplane was nearby. The New York Times reported that while Lobach and Eaves acknowledged air traffic control’s message, the Black Hawk helicopter requested authorization to fly by “visual separation,” which allows aircraft to fly based on independent observations instead of following air traffic control’s instructions.
“The Black Hawk was 15 seconds away from crossing paths with the jet. Warrant Officer Eaves then turned his attention to Captain Lobach. He told her he believed that air traffic control wanted them to turn left, toward the east river bank,” the report stated. “Turning left would have opened up more space between the helicopter and Flight 5342, which was heading for Runway 33 at an altitude of roughly 300 feet. She did not turn left.”
READ MORE: No survivors after American Airlines plane collides with Black Hawk helicopter in mid-air
According to a U.S. Army press release, Lobach served as an aviation officer in the Army from July of 2019 to January of 2025 and had over 450 hours of flight time prior to January’s fatal collision. The Army also confirmed that Lobach served as a White House military social aide under former President Joe Biden’s administration.
The New York Post reported that in addition to the Black Hawk pilot reportedly ignoring the instructions of air traffic controllers, technology on the helicopter that would have allowed air traffic controllers to better track the Black Hawk’s movements was turned off at the time of the military training mission.
Brig. Gen. Matthew Braman, director of aviation for the Army, indicated that multiple factors led to the fatal collision between the Black Hawk helicopter and the passenger aircraft, according to The New York Post.
In a statement obtained by The New York Post, Braman said, “I think what we’ll find in the end is there were multiple things that, had any one of them changed, it could have well changed the outcome of that evening.”
