Army Pilot Capt. Rebecca Lobach Honored As ‘Brilliant & Fearless’ After Deadly D.C. Helicopter Crash

Capt. Rebecca Lobach, a decorated U.S. Army Black Hawk pilot, was among three soldiers killed in a helicopter crash involving a passenger jet in Washington, D.C.

Her friend and former ROTC classmate, Davis Winkie, paid tribute to her on Saturday, remembering her as “brilliant and fearless.”

“Rebecca was brilliant and fearless, a talented pilot and a PT stud,” Winkie, an Army veteran and USA Today reporter, wrote on X. He recalled their time together in the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Army ROTC, where they bonded as “latecomers” who joined in their third year.

Winkie shared how Lobach’s passion for aviation was evident during a “branch day” in 2018, when cadets explored different Army officer career paths. “She was a few feet in front of me when she stopped, turned and pointed out an MH-6 Little Bird (an incredibly small helicopter!). She shot me a mischievous smile and said something like, ‘Think we can both fit?’”

Despite their heights—Winkie at 6’6” and Lobach at 5’8”—the two squeezed into the cockpit. “My neck hurt, and I don’t think we would’ve been able to fly it very well, but we were both beaming in the selfie she took,” he recalled.

Their friendship extended beyond ROTC, sharing a love of bar trivia, where their team was “rarely victorious but was never defeated.”

Winkie credited Lobach and their friend group with supporting him through personal struggles. “Our friend group sustained me and kept me engaged when every fiber of my being wanted to just go numb to this world. I owe her so much.”

Even after Winkie transitioned to journalism and Lobach became an active-duty pilot, they remained close. “After I went into journalism, she would call me when I wrote a funny or interesting story,” he wrote. “I wish we’d taken a photo together when we had lunch a year ago. I wish I’d remembered to invite her to a party I hosted a week ago. I wish she weren’t dead.”

Lobach, originally from Durham, North Carolina, had served in the Army since July 2019. Her family released a statement through the Army on Saturday: “We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Rebecca. She was a bright star in all our lives. … Rebecca was many things. She was a daughter, sister, partner, and friend. She was a servant, a caregiver, an advocate. Most of all she loved and was loved.”

She also served as a White House social aide during the Biden administration and recently escorted designer Ralph Lauren at the Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony.

The cause of the Black Hawk helicopter crash remains under investigation. The other soldiers killed were Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Eaves, 39, and Staff Sgt. Ryan Austin O’Hara, 28.

President Donald Trump blamed diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs on the crash, without citing any evidence. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described the crew as “experienced” in his first comments about the crash.