I found a useful update from
Terry's PC-Free Topics on Quora. The overview of that report includes the following details:
"The second pilot of the doomed Blackhawk Helicopter was identified as Army Captain Rebecca Lobach, (CPT Lobach), age 28. A review of CPT Lobach's military resume reveals that she had roughly 450 hours of Blackhawk flying experience."
"The Army did not release the name of this pilot "allegedly "based on the family not granting approval for the disclosure. It is speculated the SECDEF Hegseth got involved and the Army released the name of CPT Rebecca Lobach.
"The name of the pilot would be on the flight plan and aircraft manifest so it would not be an unknown fact. Additionally, all military personnel are required to wear metal identification tags aka "dog tags," for ease of identification. The exact facts surrounding the three (3) day delay are unclear and unknown at this time."
"It appears that there were two (2) pilots on the Blackhawk Helicopter. The Army did not disclose details of who was flying the Blackhawk Helicopter at the time of the crash or its official mission at the time of the crash. All that is said is the crash is currently under investigation.
"As such, here is what is uncovered to date. The Blackhawk Helicopter was "allegedly" on a night time certification mission. The Blackhawk Helicopter has a justification for flying in the Washington DC area because of the fact that the 12th Aviation Battalion has a "Continuity Of Government" mission.
"As part of a nighttime certification or even training mission, there would be one senior pilot and another pilot who is under evaluation. In this instance, the more experienced pilot would be Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Eaves, (CW2 Eaves), who has over 1,000 hours flight time on a Blackhawk Helicopter."
"CW2 Eaves was the senior pilot aboard the Blackhawk helicopter involved in the crash. He was a highly experienced pilot, and he held a senior position compared to the other crew members. While the exact roles of the other crew members aren't fully detailed, CW2 Eaves' experience suggests that he was the lead or more senior pilot during the flight.
"This fact makes CPT Lobach the Blackhawk Pilot being evaluated an/or certified. As such, CPT Lobach was more than likely flying the Blackhawk Helicopter at the time of the crash. This is an unconfirmed fact."
"Next, the Blackhawk Helicopter on this particular mission was restricted to flying its route along the Potomac River not to exceed a 200 foot maximum altitude ceiling along its flight path. This type of flying at low level is referred to as flying Nap Of the Earth (NOE)."
"NOE flying is a technique used by military pilots to fly at low altitudes in order to avoid detection and to navigate through terrain or other obstacles. This type of flight typically requires specialized training and equipment, such as night vision devices (NVDs), especially in low-visibility conditions."
"Next, it is important to look at the command structure of the Army unit involved in the mission of the Blackhawk Helicopter. The unit is the 12th Aviation Battalion located at Davison Army Airfield, Fort Belvoir, Md. The unit is currently commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Erika Holownia, (LTC Holownia). As the Commanding Officer of the 12th Aviation Battalion, she assumes all responsibility for the welfare and safety of her soldiers.
"It is undisputed that on the doomed flight, there were three (3) crew consisting of two (2) pilots and one (1) crew member. The senior pilot in command was CW2 Eaves and the Co-pilot was CPT Lobach. The enlisted crew member was Staff Sergeant Ryan O'Hara SSG O'Hara."
"According to other Blackhawk crew members and pilots who wish to remain anonymous, states that there should be at least four (4) to five (5) crew members on each flight for safety and security reasons."
"Considering the fact that there was only three (3) crew on the doomed Blackhawk that was flying at night NOE with or without NODs means that they were not sufficiently staffed for a high risk flight. There should have been another crew member on the flight since flying NOE at under 200 feet under Visual Flight Restrictions (VFR) would require additional crew for safety reasons. They were flying in an high traffic contested airspace over the Nation's Capital. All crew would have internal communication capability."
"As such, the ultimate responsibility belongs to the 12th Aviation Battalion Commander, LTC Holownia, who is ultimately responsible for the doomed flight.
If LTC Holownia signed off of the Blackhawk Flight plan knowing that there were only three (3) crew members on a nighttime flight training or certification mission, requiring 4 or more crew, she should be immediately relieved of her Command and subjected to an Article 32 investigation."
"Other contributing factors is the Aircraft Communications issue that refers to the practice of pilots using a designated radio frequency, called the "Common Traffic Advisory Frequency (CTAF). This is how pilots communicate with each other when operating at an airport self-announcing their position and intentions to maintain situational awareness. It is primarily used at airports where there is no control tower, but can be used by pilots to avoid mid-air collisions."
"The Reagan National ATC had to communicate separately with the Commercial aircraft on a VHF frequency and the Blackhawk Helicopter on a separate UHF frequency. Neither aircraft could communicate effectively with each other only the control tower."
"At the Reagan National Control Tower, news outlets revealed that a shift supervisor allowed one (1) Air Traffic Controller (ATC) to leave early for an unknown reason. This left one (1) ATC to communicate with both aircraft and attempt to deconflict the pending collision. As a result, this left the Reagan National Control Tower one short ATC at the time of the accident. If this fact is proven correct, the supervisor and possibly the ATC bear "some" potential responsibility in the crash."
"If the evidence indicates that the collision occurred at approximately 350 feet, this would indicate that the Blackhawk Helicopter was flying above its designated restricted 200 foot ceiling. This would reveal that the pilot flying the Blackhawk Helicopter was flying 150 feet above its designated flight altitude ceiling. This would be a distinct possibility since the Blackhawk Helicopter was flying NOE and the pilots were possibly wearing NODs and operating at a high rate of speed according to videos of the crash.
"In conclusion, the crash was caused by a combination of a variety of factors and circumstances that are under investigation and could take up to a year or more before an official report is released."
That which does not kill me, will try again and get nastier