DC plane crash latest: US army identifies third pilot as black box recovered

The US Army has identified the third pilot of the Black Hawk Helicopter that collided with an American Airlines jet as Captain Rebecca M. Lobach, 28, from North Carolina.

The Army had initially refused to identify Lobach at the request of her family but the decision to release her name came ‘at the request of and in coordination with the family,’ according to a statement released by the Army.

In a statement, her family said: “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.”

NTSB spokesman Todd Ilman kicked off Saturday evening’s DCA press conference by acknowledging the shocking crash that happened in Philadelphia on Friday night.

“Tonight, we also need to give the condolences to yet another set of individuals due to the Philadelphia crash. Our hearts go out to all of them,” he said.

“Nobody should suffer this much tragedy no matter what time frame in between it.

“Know this, we will find out what happened in both of those accidents. We’ll make recommendations, we will attempt to never have to deal with those type of accidents again.”

Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board have determined the CRJ700 airplane was at 325 feet (91 meters), plus or minus 25 feet, at the time of impact, officials said at a Saturday evening news briefing.

The information was based on data recovered from the jet’s flight data recorder – the “black box” that tracks the aircraft’s movements, speed and other parameters.

The new detail suggests the Army helicopter was flying above 200 feet (61 meters), the maximum altitude for the route it was using.

Preliminary data indicates the control tower’s radar showed the helicopter at 200 feet at the time of the accident, though officials said the information has not been confirmed.

“That’s what our job is, to figure that out,” NTSB board member Todd Inman told reporters when asked what could explain the discrepancy.

The so-called “black box” from the Black Hawk helicopter, which collided with a passenger jet in Washington, D.C., has now been recovered, according to the National Transport Safety Board.

Both boxes from the American Airlines aircraft were previously found, and all three devices will now be taken for analysis, NTSB member Todd Inman said Friday, adding that the agency had a “high level of confidence” that information could be extracted from them.

The King has said he is “profoundly shocked and saddened” after an army Black Hawk helicopter collided with a commercial plane in Washington DC, killing 67 people.

“Our hearts, and our special thoughts, are with the people of the United States and our deepest sympathy goes to the families and loved ones of all the victims,” Charles said in a statement released by Buckingham Palace on Saturday.

“I would also like to pay a particular tribute to the emergency responders who acted so quickly to this horrendous event.”

A key US pilot messaging system was experiencing a temporary outage, which could lead to flight delays on Sunday, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said late on Saturday.

The Federal Aviation Administration is working to restore the “Notice to Air Mission” or NOTAM system, Duffy said on X.

“There is currently no impact to the National Airspace System because a backup system is in place,” Duffy said. “FAA has set up a hotline to communicate with aviation stakeholders and will send notices every 30 minutes with updates on the system’s status.”

Duffy said the FAA “activated its contingency system to supplement and support preflight briefings and continue flight operations… We are investigating the root cause and we will provide updates.”

He said passengers should check with their carriers about the status of flights on Sunday, adding “there may be some residual delays tomorrow morning.”

President Donald Trump previously claimed that DEI “could have been” to blame for the fatal collision.

Trump suggested that the Federal Aviation Administration’s diversity efforts have made air travel less safe.

“The FAA is actively recruiting workers who suffer severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems, and other mental and physical conditions under a diversity and inclusion hiring initiative spelled out on the agency’s website,” Trump said at a briefing on Thursday.

Trump was then asked by a reporter: “Are you saying this crash was somehow caused and the result of diversity hiring and what evidence have you seen to support these claims?”

The president replied: “It just could have been.”