The regreting papa of the 28-year-old American Airlines pilot is asking for more stringent policies following the destructive midair accident near Washington, D.C.
Sam Lilley was the initial police officer on American Airlines Flight 5342 when a UNITED STATE Army Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter rammed the aircraft, triggering both airplane to dive right into the Potomac River throughout the aircraft’s descent right into Ronald Reagan International Airport onJan 29.
All 67 individuals aboard both airplane were eliminated, making it the nation’s most dangerous air catastrophe considering that 2001.
“[Sam] was doing great in his career,” Timothy Lilley, a previous Army helicopter pilot, informedFox News Digital “He was doing great in his personal life, he was set to be married.”
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In this picture shared by Timothy Lilley, Sam Lilley, the co-pilot that died on deadly American Airlines Flight 5342, grins from the cabin of an aircraft. (Timothy Lilley)
Timothy Lilley offered two decades in the Army flying Black Hawk helicopters– the very same airplane that rammed the aircraft his kid was flying– prior to piloting clinical helicopters and later on signing up with a local airline company.
All 3 components of my globe clashed over the Potomac that evening.
In the wake of his kid’s fatality, Timothy is leveraging his experience to contact legislators and armed forces authorities to pass adjustment, guaranteeing that component of Sam’s heritage will certainly be aeronautics security.
Now he is asking the armed forces to stop trip procedures at private airport terminals, spruce up training for pilots and call for airplane to have a functional Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) while within Class B airspace.
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Wreckage from American Airlines Flight 5342 is drawn from the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan National Airport on Monday, February 3, 2025. The aircraft rammed a UNITED STATE Army Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday, January 29, eliminating 67 individuals. (Tom Williams/ CQ-Roll Call, Inc using Getty Images)
Currently, armed forces airplane are not called for to be furnished with TCAS when flying in Class B airspace, which consists of the biggest private airport terminals within the nation, according toLilley
“It’s been said, and it is true, that most aviation regulations are written in blood,” Lilley claimed. “That means that something terrible has to happen for us to make a change.”
Lilley is intending to indicate before Congress and claimed that top-level Army authorities have actually been responsive to his ideas, leading the way for a future of more secure skies.
Crew recover wreck of American Airlines Flight 5342 in the Potomac River near Washington, D.C, on January 30, 2025. The aircraft was associated with a deadly accident with a UNITED STATE Army Black Hawk helicopter the previous evening. (Leigh Green for Fox News Digital)
Lilley thinks that Sam’s interest for flying expanded from enjoying him as a pilot.
After making a level in advertising and logistics from Georgia Southern University, Sam moved to aeronautics. He began trip training in 2019, obtained his business certificate the list below year and ended up being a trip trainer. Two years prior to the collision, he started flying for American Airlines’ local airline company, PSA.
“If he stayed at PSA long enough, he was going to end up at American Airlines,” Lilley claimed. “He wanted to be an international captain and fly the 777s to Europe and Asia.”
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In this picture shared by Timothy Lilley, Sam Lilley, the co-pilot that died on deadly American Airlines Flight 5342, commemorates a profession success. (Timothy Lilley)
Sam was likewise involved to his veteran partner, Lydia, and both were intending on beginning a family members. The day prior to his fatality, Sam’s mom went wedding celebration place searching for the pair, with the event set up for the loss.
However, Sam’s desires were stopped when the airplane and helicopter clashed, diving right into the icy Potomac onJan 29.
In this picture shared by Timothy Lilley, Sam Lilley, the co-pilot that died on deadly American Airlines Flight 5342, suggests to his partner, Lydia. (Timothy Lilley)
Timothy Lilley remained in New York City for operate at the moment of the collision, originally seeing records of the occurrence on the information.
“I realized there had been a plane crash, which, of course, sparked my interest,” Lilley claimed. “But the chance of it being Sam was one and a million.”
When Lilley recognized the aircraft was possessed by PSA, he connected to Sam however never ever listened to back, verifying the unimaginable.
That was heart-wrenching, it was simply heart-wrenching.
Lilley took a trip to the website of the misfortune and started assembling what had actually created Sam’s aircraft to collision, however much of his concerns continue to be unanswered.
Investigators are functioning to recover information from the helicopter’s black box, which endured water damages throughout recuperation initiatives. Audio recordings from Sam’s airplane validated that the pilots tried to escape influence.
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“The crew had a verbal reaction,” Brice Banning, NTSB detective accountable, claimed.
The information recorder within the airplane programs “the airplane beginning to increase its pitch,” according toBanning “Sounds of impact were audible about one second later, followed by the end of the recording.”
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A total National Transportation Safety Board examination can use up to a year, however authorities are wishing to have an initial record within thirty day. Investigators are likewise checking into the opportunity that the flight terminal’s control tower was not completely staffed at the time of the collision.
Until the examination ends, sufferers’ households can just hypothesize concerning the accident that eliminated their enjoyed ones. Lilley, as a previous Black Hawk pilot that flew the very same Potomac course “hundreds of times,” thinks he can provide a distinct viewpoint.
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“There are hundreds of things that could have gone wrong in there,” Lilley claimed. “Maybe both pilots had their heads down looking at the radio at once, maybe they thought a different aircraft was that one, maybe they saw lights on the ground and thought it was the aircraft, maybe they were doing an emergency procedure training, and they were distracted by that. I don’t know what happened in that cockpit.”
Sam Lilley was the pilot of the American Airlines aircraft that rammed a Black Hawk helicopter near Washington, D.C., on January 29, 2025. (Timothy Lilley)
Despite the misfortune, Lilley is locating tranquility amongst the households of the various other sufferers and by recognizing his kid.
Lilley informed Fox News Digital that his neighborhood Georgia area has actually rallied around their household, with his business sending out a personal jet to transportation Sam’s enjoyed ones to the website of the collision.
“There were 67 people who lost their lives, and there were families there that had new widows and new orphans and who lost two children and Olympic hopefuls and high-caliber lawyers,” Lilley claimed. “Every single person involved in this accident, I’d want to be friends with – both in the Black Hawk and in the [airplane].”
He is likewise trying to find methods to recognize his kid, consisting of promoting aeronautics security and obtaining a tattoo in remembrance ofSam
Timothy Lilley reveals the tattoo he obtained to recognize his kid, Sam Lilley, that died on deadly American Airlines Flight 5342. (Timothy Lilley)
PSA airline companies has actually posthumously granted Sam with the title of honorary captain, saying in a statement that “the title reflects not only his technical expertise but also the profound impact he had on our airline family.”
American Airlines did not promptly reply to Fox News Digital’s ask for remark.
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“It’s a tragedy, these lives ended way before any of us were ready for it,” Lilley informed Fox News Digital.
