{"id":167374,"date":"2026-01-30T07:53:45","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T15:53:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lukeford.net\/blog\/?p=167374"},"modified":"2026-01-30T07:53:53","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T15:53:53","slug":"nym-inside-the-helicopter-that-caused-the-potomac-air-disaster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lukeford.net\/blog\/?p=167374","title":{"rendered":"NYM: Inside the Helicopter That Caused the Potomac Air Disaster"},"content":{"rendered":"

New York magazine says<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Though talented as a manager, she wasn\u2019t much of a pilot. Helicopter flying is an extremely demanding feat of coordination and balance, akin to juggling and riding a unicycle at the same time. For [Rebecca] Lobach, the difficulty was compounded by the fact that she had trained on highly automated, relatively easy-to-fly helicopters at Fort Rucker and then been assigned to an older aircraft, the Black Hawk L or \u201cLima\u201d model, at Fort Belvoir. Unlike newer models, which can maintain their altitude on autopilot, the Lima requires constant care and attention, and Lobach struggled to master it. One instructor described her skills as \u201cwell below average,\u201d noting that she had \u201clots of difficulties in the aircraft.\u201d Three years before, she\u2019d failed the night-vision evaluation she was taking tonight…<\/p>\n

What Lobach faced on the final night of her life was a mission that was far beyond her skill level. She was a low-proficiency pilot with a low aptitude for flying, one who didn\u2019t fly regularly in an operational role and had no intention of flying after leaving the service. She was operating a helicopter that was older, less automated, and more challenging than what she\u2019d trained on. Her instructor pilot had been warned to keep a tight rein on her during the flight but had failed to do so.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New York magazine says: Though talented as a manager, she wasn\u2019t much of a pilot. Helicopter flying is an extremely demanding feat of coordination and balance, akin to juggling and riding a unicycle at the same time. For [Rebecca] Lobach, … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21791],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-167374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-america"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t