American Airlines pilots in DC crash tragedy named as Jonathan Campos and Sam Lilley as Trump confirms 67 killed
American Airlines pilots in DC crash tragedy named as Jonathan Campos and Sam Lilley as Trump confirms 67 killed
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THE men who piloted the ill-fated American Airlines plane that was struck by a US Army Black Hawk and fell into a river have been named. Captain Jonathan Campos, 34, and First Officer Sam Lilley, 28, are among the 67 people who were killed in the horrifying crash outside Washington DC on Wednesday evening.
![[Pilot holding his certificate in front of a small airplane.]](https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/01/www-facebook-com-tim-lilley-967885901.jpg?strip=all&w=941)
Their passenger plane erupted into flames and fell into the Potomac River in three pieces after an "elevation issue" saw the US Military helicopter directly in its path, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said. The flight from Wichita, Kansas, to the nation's capital had gone on without a hitch until the deadly moment, and officials are investigating exactly what went wrong.
![[Coast Guard boat on the Potomac River with an American flag in the foreground.]](https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/01/2025-washington-dc-american-airlines-967886454.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
The American Airlines plane had sixty passengers and four crew members, and there were three Army soldiers on the Black Hawk. There are no survivors, making this the most deadly US air crash in over 24 years. Helping to pilot the plane was First Officer Lilley, who was just months away from being promoted to captain.
![[Illustration of a plane crash timeline showing a helicopter and plane colliding over the Potomac River.]](https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/01/image_a75d5a.png?strip=all&w=620)
It comes as... The young man was in "the prime of his life" and was engaged to a "beautiful, wonderful girl," his heartbroken father, Timothy Lilley, told the Daily Mail. Timothy, who is also a private plane pilot, said his heart dropped when he realized that the plane crash matched his son's schedule.
The devastated dad called his son's fiancee to tell her the news before breaking down into heaving sobs. "It's a bitter, bitter pill to swallow," he said. "But my son knows Jesus and that's the part that makes it a little easier. But I'm still left behind. We're all left behind.
