Both of the two pilots on board the PSA Airlines flight that crashed near Reagan National Airport have been identified. According to Fox 5 Atlanta, 28-year-old Sam Lilley was the first officer on the regional jet. 34-year-old Jonathan Campos was the captain, per the Daily Mail.
The CRJ-700 – which was operated by American Airlines’ regional subsidiary PSA – was flying from Wichita, Kansas, to Washington, D.C., on Wednesday evening. The jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided over the Potomac River.
All on board both aircraft are presumed dead, including 64 on the CRJ, and three Army soldiers.
Lilley had been with PSA for two years, American CEO Robert Isom said during a press conference. Campos had six years of tenure at the regional carrier.
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. @FOX5Atlanta pic.twitter.com/HVRwORvpRk
— Eric Perry (@Ericperrytv) January 30, 2025
“This is undoubtedly the worst day of my life,” his father, Timothy Lilley, told Fox 5.
Timothy Lilley added that he had been a U.S. Army helicopter pilot for two decades.
“The irony is that I was a Black Hawk helicopter pilot for 20 years and I used to fly that exact same route that the helicopter that crashed was flying,” he shared. Timothy is now a private jet pilot.
An investigation into the accident remains ongoing and is in the hands of the National Transportation Safety Board.
