Civil rights attorney and former Beauty pageant winner among the 67 killed in DC mid-air collision
A civil rights attorney and former Beauty pageant winner is among those killed in the horror crash between a passenger plane and Army helicopter in Washington, D.C.
Teenage ice skating stars, their parents, and a soon-to-be-married pilot are some of the other souls lost in the January 29 tragedy.
All 64 people aboard the American Airlines jet and three aboard the Army Black Hawk helicopter are believed to have died after the aircraft crashed mid-air in a massive fireball and plunged into the icy Potomac River near Reagan Washington National Airport.
So far 40 bodies have been recovered from the water, as families with loved ones aboard the flight wait to hear the worst.
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This is what we know about the crash victims:
Captain Rebecca M. Lobach was among the crew who was killed on board the training mission collision that occurred close to Ronald Reagan National Airport on Thursday. She was 28 years old.
Lobach served as an aviation officer from July 2019 to January 2025. She was assigned to the 12th Aviation Battalion, Ft Belvoir.
In a statement, Lobach’s family described her as a “distinguished military graduate in ROTC at the University of North Carolina, and was in the top 20% of cadets nationwide.”
“Rebecca was a warrior and would not hesitate to defend her country in battle,” the heartbreaking statement continued.
During her career, Lobach served as a White House Military Social Aide, even escorting fashion icon Ralph Lauren when he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Joe Biden in 2024.
Kiah Duggins, who was on her way home to Washington, D.C., from Kansas, worked as an attorney for the Civil Rights Corps.
Friends described her as “a brave and beautiful soul, a light in the fight for civil rights.”
The 30-year-old had been in Wichita to be with her mother during a surgical procedure, according to KMUW. Duggins’ family members confirmed to the outlet on Thursday that she was aboard the flight.
