In the aftermath of the horrific crash between an Army helicopter and an American Airlines regional jet in Washington, D.C. in January, the mainstream media has worked overtime to blame the Trump administration and deflect any responsibility from the female helicopter pilot. Not only is this a prime display of yellow journalism; it's a massive disservice to the public.

Back in March the NTSB released a preliminary report on the accident in which they issued two urgent safety recommendations related to the operation of helicopters on routes along the Potomac River when particular runways at Ronald Reagan National Airport are in use. That report also outlined communications between the air traffic controllers and both aircraft in the moments leading up to the crash, noting multiple instances in which the pilot, Capt. Rebecca M. Lobach, ignored directives and warnings given by her flight instructor - two directives to decrease altitude, and a warning to turn left immediately before the crash. That last warning was less than 20 seconds before impact, as the report indicates:

[A]t 2047:44, the crew of PAT25 indicated that traffic was in sight and requested visual separation, which was approved by DCA tower. CVR data indicated that, following this transmission, the IP told the pilot they believed ATC was asking for the helicopter to move left toward the east bank of the Potomac.

READ MORE: NTSB Releases Preliminary Report, Urgent Safety Recommendations Following DC Plane Crash

At that time news outlets understandably focused on the unusual moves the NTSB took in issuing two urgent recommendations to the FAA and less on the communications between controllers and the aircraft - and between Lobach and her instructor pilot. One reason for that is because the NTSB's report was preliminary and did not include all communications, and if the final report including additional information came to different conclusions, no outlet wants to have egg on its face.

Although the final NTSB report won't be issued until 2026, the New York Times is already attempting to soften the blow when the report inevitably concludes that Lobach was at fault and the crash was entirely preventable. The outlet published a piece Sunday blaming the crash on numerous failures, burying the part about Lobach's ignorance at the end of their article. Regardless of any ATC tower staffing issues, or any other issues the Times writes about, if Lobach had reduced altitude or turned left when her instructor told her that's what he believed the tower wanted her to do, the crash wouldn't have happened. Apparently the Times writers believe that, too, despite their indoctrination with political correctness, given how the article ends:

Two seconds after the controller’s cut out instruction about passing behind the jet, Warrant Officer Eaves replied, affirming for the second time that the Black Hawk saw the traffic. “PAT two-five has the aircraft in sight. Request visual separation,” he said.

“Vis sep approved,” the controller replied.

It was their last communication.

The Black Hawk was 15 seconds away from crossing paths with the jet. Warrant Officer Eaves then turned his attention to Captain Lobach.

He told her he believed that air traffic control wanted them to turn left, toward the east river bank.

Turning left would have opened up more space between the helicopter and Flight 5342, which was heading for Runway 33 at an altitude of roughly 300 feet.

She did not turn left.

The reason the ATC's words might not have been clear to the Black Hawk crew is that someone in the Black Hawk "stepped on" the ATC communications by pressing their mic key for 0.8 seconds, blocking what the ATC was saying.

Why didn't the instructor pilot directly order Lobach to turn left? And why didn't he take over? Here's one reason the flight instructor, Warrant Officer Eaves, might have worded it the way he did, and why he might have hesitated to take over:

Captain Lobach was the highest-ranking soldier on the helicopter, but Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves, who was acting as her instructor, had flown more than twice as many hours over time.

Yep. Even though Eaves had flown twice as many hours over time and was qualified to be her instructor, she outranked him - and the third crew member had more flight hours than both Eaves and Lobach. One retired Black Hawk pilot who spoke to members of Lobach's unit claims she "was on her fifth check ride after failing four previous ones" and that "the unit has been threatened not to talk to the press about her...the unit still has very woke and DEI loving leaders there." (Note: We have not yet independently verified the claim that she was on her fifth check ride.)

Veteran Sam Shoemate asked the same question on X, and had the same takeaway (emphasis mine).

"Why didn't the co-pilot take over?"

That's the question so many are asking. I don't know, and you don't know. What I do know is there is a climate in our military that is fearful of questioning decisions, or seemingly untouchable individuals, for fear of halting one's career in its tracks.

Not too long ago there was a Lieutenant running the show within her unit, because she'd befriended the commanding general of her installation on social media, and everyone in her chain of command knew she was untouchable. I spoke to her company commander, and he told me she was given a free pass to do as she pleased because of it. The chain of command was compromised because of her friendly proximity to the most senior person on her installation, and no one was willing to question that because of the overall command climate that had been created.

And we know why. As RedState columnist Dr. Chase Spears said, "It's clear that Biden leftovers in the Army were desperate to conceal that their diversity push killed 67 people over the Potomac that tragic night."

This makes it even more understandable why the @USArmy public affairs apparatus threw itself into trying to canonized Capt. Lobach.

It's clear that the Biden leftovers in the Army were desperate to conceal that their diversity push killed 67 people over the Potomac that tragic… https://t.co/jJ7Kgeb0NM

— Chase Spears (@DrChaseSpears) April 27, 2025

Knowing that under the Trump administration there won't be any sanitizing of reports or records in the name of political correctness, those leftovers got their talking points published in the New York Times. Here are some of the deflections from the harsh truth:

• "[D]ata recently analyzed by the board revealed that National Airport was the site of at least one near collision between an airplane and a helicopter each month from 2011 to 2024. Two-thirds of the incidents occurred at night, and more than half may have involved helicopters flying above their maximum designated altitude."
• There was "a particularly narrow vertical space between the landing slope for a jet" on Runway 33 and the maximum altitude at which helicopters can fly on Route 4 (only 75 feet).
• "Despite differences in rank and the delineation of duties, all three Black Hawk crew members bore responsibility for searching the sky for other aircraft and helping to stay clear of them."
• Staffing at the DCA tower was "not normal" on the night of the crash and one ATC was directing both commercial jet and helicopter traffic.
• The practice of "see-and-avoid" or of pilots maintaining visual separation between aircraft is too risky.
• Although the ATC was proactive in telling the Black Hawk to "pass behind" the American Airlines jet, "Still, some regulators and controllers said that the controller in this case could have done more.

There's no doubt that the issues noted above are problematic, but if Lobach had followed regulations related to the max altitude on that helicopter route (200 feet south of Memorial Bridge) or listened to her instructor pilot and followed his multiple instructions to decrease altitude, or, failing all of that, took action on his final statement, that he believed the ATC was telling them to turn left, the crash would not have occurred.

Why didn't Lobach take action and turn left? Did she think she was being mansplained to and believe she knew better? I'd hope not, and we'll never know.

As I finish writing this article it occurs to me that I am probably more harsh in my pronouncements than I usually am - and here's why. Since the night of the crash I've watched as a wonderful friend, her son, and her family have experienced unimaginable grief after the loss of their closet friends, the Livingston family. My friend Jin Ah Longerbeam is a skate mom and met the family of four through her son, Wolfe. Over the years the families became so close that Wolfe and the Livingston girls considered each other as siblings.

Wolfe is the son of my friend Jin Ah Longerbeam and they were extremely close to the Livingston family - all 4 Livingstons perished in Wednesday night's crash at Reagan National Airport. He shared the photos Donna Livingston sent just before takeoff, and spoke about it on ABC… pic.twitter.com/o7ri2GSHQV

— Jennifer Van Laar (@jenvanlaar) February 1, 2025

On the night of the crash, Wolfe insisted that they go down to the airport after hearing about the crash, and told his mom they should bring extra coats because the girls would be cold in the water.

That all of these lives were snuffed out due to incompetence and (in my opinion) arrogance is infuriating. We must rid our military of people who have been promoted, despite lack of competence, because of their gender, skin color, or sexual orientation.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: This piece was edited post-publication for clarity.)

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