The pilots of an American Airlines commuter jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter were put on a collision course over the Potomac River by the Federal Aviation Administration, which designed and approved a flight pattern that relied too heavily on pilots to avoid crashes, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
The board approved its final report Tuesday following a yearlong investigation of the Jan. 29, 2025, midair collision that killed all 64 people on the plane and all three soldiers on the helicopter. They included Capt. Rebecca Lobach, the pilot in control of the helicopter, who grew up in Rougemont in northern Durham County and graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2019.
The report makes 50 safety recommendations, most directed at the FAA. It concludes the “probable cause” of the crash was the result of several factors. But chief among them was an established flight route that allowed helicopters to cross the path of jets approaching Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport…