Fatal Mistake That Caused Black Hawk Collision Revealed

Army Pilot Ignored Warnings Before Deadly Helicopter-Passenger Jet Collision: Report 

New details have emerged about the fatal Jan. 29 collision between an Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines passenger plane that claimed 67 lives. 

Helicopter pilot Captain Rebecca Lobach failed to comply with instructions to change course in the critical moments before impact, according to a bombshell report published by The New York Times.

Lobach was undergoing an annual flight evaluation with her instructor, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves, when the catastrophic incident occurred. 

The report reveals multiple errors contributed to one of the worst aviation disasters in recent history.

Not only was Lobach flying at an improper altitude, but she also disregarded crucial instructions from both air traffic control and her co-pilot to alter course, according to the investigation.

Just 15 seconds before the collision, air traffic controllers instructed the Black Hawk to turn left. 

Lobach maintained her course despite this warning. 

Even when Eaves personally emphasized the instruction, telling her that air traffic control wanted them to turn left, she still did not change direction.

Both crew members had acknowledged the presence of the nearby aircraft and had requested to fly by “visual separation” – a standard practice allowing pilots to avoid collisions based on their own observations rather than strictly following controller instructions.

Aviation experts interviewed noted that while visual separation is routinely granted and usually executed without incident, when mishandled, it can create deadly risks that industry professionals have warned about for years.

The investigation found that if Lobach had followed instructions to turn left, it “would have opened up more space between the helicopter and Flight 5342.” 

Instead, all 67 people aboard both aircraft perished in the collision.

Lobach, from Durham, North Carolina, was an Army aviation officer with approximately 500 hours of flight experience. 

She had previously served as a White House military social aide during the Biden administration, the Daily Mail reported.

Federal Aviation Administration regulations require pilots to be advised when aircraft are on a collision course. 

Experts determined this critical warning did not occur and that “immediate intervention was needed” to prevent the tragedy.

“Direct, immediate intervention was needed that night. Instead of seeing and avoiding Flight 5342, Captain Lobach continued flying straight at it,” the report stated. 

Aviation experts speculate she may have been “blindsided” by the fact that the American Airlines flight was “circling” Runway 33.

Investigators believe the Black Hawk crew might not have heard the crucial term “circling” because they could have been pressing their microphone key to speak at the same moment that instruction came through. 

“If the key is depressed, the pilot can speak but not hear incoming communications,” the report explained.

Sources close to the investigation confirm there’s no indication Lobach suffered a medical emergency during the flight, nor did she have pre-existing health conditions that might have impaired her judgment.

Earlier investigation findings revealed that the helicopter crew likely received incomplete radio transmissions in the critical moments before impact. 

NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy indicated that a transmission directing the Black Hawk to “pass behind the” commercial jet was likely interrupted because the helicopter’s microphone key was pressed simultaneously.

Investigators also discovered that the Black Hawk’s Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast system—vital tracking technology that shares an aircraft’s position, altitude and speed—was turned off for “no compelling reason” at the time of the collision. 

This technology provides pilots with displays showing the location of other aircraft and gives air traffic controllers more accurate tracking capabilities than radar alone.

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