Helicopter Pilot in D.C. Crash Was Not in Medical Distress: Report

• A new investigation into the American Airlines crash conducted by The New York Times found that the crew aboard the Army Black Hawk helicopter was not suffering from any impairment
• “There is no indication that [Capt. Rebecca Lobach] was suffering from health issues at the time or that a medical event affected her during those final moments,” the report stated
• American Airlines flight 5342 was preparing to land in Washington, D.C., when the military aircraft collided with the plane

A new report into the Jan. 29 midair collision between an American Airlines passenger jet and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter found that the captain who was flying the military aircraft was not impaired.

The New York Times — using dozens of records and interviews with aviation experts — reported in an April 27 investigative story that while there is still no answer as to exactly why the crew on board the Black Hawk continued flying toward the airplane, they were not medically impaired.

“There is no indication that [Capt. Rebecca Lobach] was suffering from health issues at the time or that a medical event affected her during those final moments aboard the Black Hawk, according to friends and people familiar with the crash investigation, which included autopsies and performance log reviews,” the outlet reported.

The newspaper also reported that it appeared several mistakes were made by the Black Hawk crew, which also included Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves and Staff Sgt. Ryan Austin O’Hara.

“Some of the controller’s instructions were ‘stepped on’ — meaning that they cut out when the helicopter crew pressed a microphone to speak — and important information likely went unheard,” the Times reported.

The outlet reported that Lobach failed to follow a direction from the co-pilot, an Army flight instructor, to change course. Additionally, one feature that would allow controllers to better track the helicopter had been turned off, due to Army protocol, which called for pilots to turn off the setting when practicing how to secretly fly government officials.

The Times also reported aviation experts believe that the controller did not issue “clear, urgent instructions to the Black Hawk to avert the crash.”

The Federal Aviation Administration told the Times in a statement that it could not discuss “any aspect” of the still-ongoing investigation, which is being led by the National Transportation Safety Board. The NTSB added that it would release their final report on the causes of the crash by early 2026.

Brig. Gen. Matthew Braman, the Army’s director of aviation, also told the outlet that he believes investigators will find that a number of things contributed to the fatal crash.

“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,” Braman said.

Just before 9 p.m. on Jan. 29, the American Airlines flight 5342 was preparing to land in Washington, D.C., after a trip from Wichita, Kansas, when the military aircraft collided with the plane near Reagan National Airport.

The fiery crash sent both aircrafts plummeting into the Potomac River, and 67 people were killed in the historic disaster.

A number of factors that may have contributed to the crash were already known prior to the Times‘ report.

Officials said the helicopter was flying far too high during a routine night mission and had been twice warned about the jet, which was instructed just a few minutes before landing to switch runways.

NTSB member Todd Inman told reporters on Feb. 1 that air traffic control twice alerted the helicopter to the larger passenger jet, including about two minutes before the collision, when the helicopter was told that the plane would be landing at Runway 33.

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Air traffic control staffing levels were also reportedly lower than they normally would have been. And at the last second, the passenger plane pulled up — as though trying to avert catastrophe. One controller was handling both plane and helicopter traffic, rather than two people dividing the job, because someone left early, according a previous report from the Times.

Additionally, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth previously said that the helicopter had night vision goggles with them on what he called an “annual proficiency training flight.” These goggles may have impaired their vision at a well-lit airport such as Reagan.