The father of the American Airlines pilot has spoken out following the crash. (Image: Getty)
The father of one of the two pilots on the American Airlines flight that crashed into a helicopter in Washington DC has demanded answers after the “worst day of his life”.
American Eagle flight 5342 (the brand name for the regional branch of American Airlines) collided with a Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday night above
The flight, coming from from Wichita, Kansas and operated by Pacific Southwest Airlines, had 60 passengers and four crew members on board. The Black Hawk had three people on board during its training flight.
As investigators probe the crash, Timothy Lilley, the father of pilot Sam Lilley, shared his grief, calling Wednesday “undoubtedly “.
He recounted that he was in New York when he first heard news of the crash, initially thinking his son was not involved. However, when his son failed to check in as usual after the flight, his worst fears were confirmed.
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EXCLUSIVE: The father of the pilot onboard the American Airlines Plane identifies him as 28 Year-old- Sam Lilley. His father, who is also a pilot, says he was engaged to be married, started his training in 2019 and was the first officer on the flight Wednesday.
— Eric Perry (@Ericperrytv)
The father-son duo shared a love for flying, with Sam beginning his training in 2019 and working with PSA Airlines (part of the American Airlines group) for two years. Timothy himself had served 20 years as a helicopter pilot in the army.
He told Fox 5: “In the ’90s, I used to fly in and out of the Pentagon regularly, and I can tell you if you are flying on the route over the Potomac and wearing night vision goggles, it’s .
“If you’re not wearing the goggles, then you might have a chance.”
[REVEAL] [EXCLUSIVE]
Timothy has sought answers by visiting the crash site, submitting airport forms, and awaiting further news.
, black boxes from the plane have been recovered. Timothy remains committed to understanding the events that led to his son’s death.
The search of all accessible areas of the crash site by DC Fire has been completed. Further searches for aircraft components will support the investigation, and operations to salvage the aircraft are set to begin today.