The pilots of the American Eagle Jet in the Mid-Air Crashgorror about Washington DC are captain Jonathan Campos, 34, and first officer Samuel Lilley, DailyMail.com can excluding.
Newly involved Lilley, 29, was for months removed from promoted to captain in a career that he loved, his father Timothy told us in an exclusive interview.
The doomed flight 5342 from Wichita, Kansas – with 60 passengers – collided in a massive fireball with an army Black Hawk Helicopter 400ft above the Potomac River River when the Reagan National Airport approached just before 9 p.m. Wednesday.
And in a further terrible turn to the tragedy, Lilley SR revealed that he himself was a former army of Black Hawk pilot and had flown in exactly the same area where the disaster took place.
“Samuel was in the prime of his life. He was engaged with a beautiful, great girl and we were all enthusiastic about her who came to the family, “he said.
Timothy, a former Army Warrant Officer who is now a private jet pilot, was on Teterboro Airport, New Jersey, when the crash took place – and is now in Washington.
But he initially had no idea that his beloved son was one of the pilots who died in the tragedy.
“I saw the crash on the news. I didn't think there was a way it was my son, “he said. 'But then I looked at long enough to find out that it was my son's airline and then I know his schedule.
The pilot of the crashed flight from American Airlines has been identified as Jonathan Campos, 34
Samuel Lilley, 29, has been unveiled as the first officer on board the doomed commercial flight he was newly involved and months removed from promoted to captain in a career that he loved
“And so I called his fiancé, confirmed, like, Hey Was Sam in Wichita? Yes, he was, he went to DCA? Yes, he was. So then I had to tell her. It was just an ugly scene. '
From his own reaction he said: 'You know what, I was okay for five, maybe 10 minutes. And then I roared for 10 minutes. It is a bitter, bitter pill for swallowing.
“But my son knows Jesus and that is the part that makes it a little easier. But I have still been left behind. We have all been left behind. He was loved by so many people. '
Timothy and his former wife Sheri raised their pilot son in Savannah, Georgia, where he proudly graduated from Georgia Southern University in 2018.
“First he went into marketing and he called me after two months and said, Dad, I hate my work,” said Lilley Sr. “And so I helped him find his new career path – and he was really good at it.
“His career really flourished. Things were very good for him.
“The irony is that for 20 years I was a black Hawkhelicopter pilot and I always flew the same route that the helicopter crashed.”
He continued to speak bravely less than 18 hours after the tragedy: 'My heaven, I had done that so often. My brothers in the army had something to do with the death of my son. '
Lilley's father Timothy (left) said he himself was a former army Black Hawk pilot and had flown in exactly the same area where the disaster took place
The moment a military helicopter collapsed on the commercial flight of the American Airlines that wore 60 passengers and four crew members and broke out in a fireball
Almost all flights have been canceled in and out of Reagan National Airport after the Airlines Air Disaster Wednesday evening
Dawn began to break the Potomac River in Washington DC when the first response worked through the night to recover what lagged behind after the collision of the American Airlines plane plane with a military helicopter
US Figure Skating Team -member Spencer Lane, 26, shared this photo from the plane of the doomed American Airlines when it started on Wednesday evening of Wichita Airport in Kansas
From his son's career path, he said: “He loved to work at PSA and he was about to make Captain. In fact, we last talked two or three days ago and that was what we were talking about.
He was really close to the qualification. I spoke to him all the time, we would always talk about flying. I was very happy to know that he came so far. '
Lilley Sr spoke while his ex-wife was on his way to DC. But he had harsh words for American Airlines while struggling to get information about his son – eventually resort to call the hotline of the company.
'American has not been good to give me information. So I called the hotline. All they do is to take you information and say they will call you back, “he told us.
And then I went to the crisis center and everything they did was fill in some paperwork and say they will call you if they have something to do for you.
“My ex -wife is on his way here and his fiancé. We start the grieving process. It will be a long difficult process.
The son of the former couple was located at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, an important American hub for American Airlines, which uses American Eagle as a regional carrier. He graduated as a pilot Ion 2022 of airlines.
Campos was born in New York but grew up in Florida. He went to the Epic Flight Academy, where he was certified as a flight instructor in 2017 and as a pilot of a commercial airline a year later, according to the company's data.
Lane also posted images of him skating shortly before the crash
Russian figure skaters Yevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov are reportedly on board the aircraft of the American Airlines that crashed into a Black Hawk helicopter
Vadim Naumov (right) and his wife Evgenia Shishkova (not shown) told their son Maxim (left) that they were 'proud' of him before they were on board the doomed American Airlines flight
First -responders who rush on stage last night to assess the damage of the devastating collision, have officially said that there are no survivors from the 60 passengers and four crew members on board the Flight American Airlines
His uncle Hector Campos told DailyMail.com that his cousin lived for the aviation business and Dailymail.com told: “He thought it was great.”
Hector added: 'We have just confirmed the news. We are in full shock. '
More to follow …
