ATLANTA — (AP) — Sam Lilley knew he wanted to fly and began training to be a pilot, like his father, right out of college.
“You don’t really expect to meet people that find their purpose so early on in life, and Sam found his in flying," said Kaitlin Sells, who met Lilley while they were students at Georgia Southern University.
Lilley was the first officer aboard the American Airlines jet carrying 60 passengers and four crew members when the jet and an Army helicopter carrying three soldiers collided in midair Wednesday night, legislators in Georgia said.
Authorities say there were no survivors after the two aircraft plummeted into the Potomac River in the country's deadliest aviation disaster since 2001. More than 40 bodies have been pulled from the icy waters of the river as recovery operations continue.
Lilley and the rest of the American Airlines crew were traveling on a daily direct route from Wichita, Kansas, to Washington, D.C., at the time of the collision. The soldiers aboard the Black Hawk helicopter were conducting an annual night proficiency training flight, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said, adding that they were a “fairly experienced crew.”
What we know so far about members of the two flight crews:
Lilley’s father, Timothy Lilley, told WAGA-TV in Atlanta that he was in Washington waiting for answers.
“This is undoubtedly the worst day of my life,” said Timothy Lilley, who also is a longtime pilot and served as a U.S. Army helicopter pilot for 20 years, noting he flew similar routes in and out of the Pentagon.
"I was so proud when Sam became a pilot," he wrote on Facebook. "Now it hurts so bad I can't even cry myself to sleep. I know I'll see him again but my heart is breaking."
Timothy Lilley said his son was excelling in his career and personal life at the time of his death and was engaged to be married later this year.
Sam Lilley graduated in 2018 with a degree in marketing but decided to become a pilot. He had earlier graduated from Richmond Hill High School, just south of Savannah, Georgia, where he had been an active member of Coastal Community Christian Church.
A local news story from 2011 highlighted his efforts to raise money to build a water well in a Zambian village.
Sells, his friend from college, said there was no one better suited to be a pilot.
“There was no one that cared more. There was no one that was more passionate,” Sells said, adding that Lilley valued “taking care of people and them putting their trust in him.”
Outside the plane, Lilley was devoted to making others happy and the type of person who always was the first onto a dance floor, Sells said.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen that man in a bad mood, spreading negativity,” Sells said. “He was the type of person where if someone was not having a good time or someone was upset, he would do everything in his power to pull them out of it.”
The captain of the American Airlines flight was 34-year-old Jonathan Campos, according to multiple news reports. His aunt, Beverly Lane, told The New York Times that Campos had wanted to be a pilot since the age of 3.
“I think he wanted to be free, and be able to fly and soar like a bird,” Lane said.
She told the newspaper she talked with Campos on Wednesday, just before the fateful flight. He told her he was looking forward to an upcoming Caribbean cruise with family.
Campos was a 2015 graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, where he studied Aeronautical Science, according to the university.
Danasia Elder was a flight attendant on the commercial flight, WSOC-TV in Charlotte, North Carolina, reported.
Elder’s brother-in-law, Brandon Payne, described her as “full of life,” highlighting her love for God, her kids and travel. She was married with two children, Kayden and Dallas.
“She was a great wife, a great parent, a great friend,” Payne told the news station. “She was very bright, very smart. She was an entrepreneur. This flight attendant thing was kind of like one of her dreams she wanted to do.”
Payne said he is proud of his sister-in-law for pursuing her dream.
“She would want y’all to do the same thing she did. Chase your dreams, no matter what. Don’t let nothing scare you, push you away. Just believe in yourself, believe in God, and follow the path,” Payne said.
Flight attendant Ian Epstein was “full of life,” said his sister, Robbie Bloom, in a statement provided to The Associated Press.
“He loved being a flight attendant because he truly enjoyed traveling and meeting new people,” she said. “But his true love was his family.”
She said he was a father, stepfather, husband and brother.
“He will be truly missed. Our biggest comfort at this time is the outpouring of love we are seeing from past passengers who met Ian while he was doing what he loved to do!” Bloom said. She said the family has been deeply moved by all the love and support but also asks for privacy as they grieve.
Ryan O'Hara was one of three soldiers aboard the Black Hawk helicopter.
“Ryan was just the most committed, disciplined person I remember working with,” said Josh Muehlendorf, a senior instructor pilot in the U.S. Army. “He had such great integrity.”
The two flew together numerous times on the same route in D.C. several years prior to the fatal crash and O’Hara took rules and procedures seriously, according to Muehlendorf.
“Ryan was one of those crew chiefs who always had our back,” he said.
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said on the social platform X that the state was mourning the death of Andrew Eaves, who was also aboard the Army helicopter.
Eaves was from the small town of Brooksville in eastern Mississippi, Reeves said.
His wife, Carrie Eaves, confirmed he was on the helicopter in a Facebook post Thursday.
“We ask that you pray for our family and friends and for all the other families that are suffering today. We ask for peace while we grieve,” the post read.
She also asked that people refrain from posting negative comments on social media.
“These families children do not need to suffer more pain,” she wrote.
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Yamat reported from Las Vegas. Associated Press journalists Nadia Lathan in Austin, Texas, and Safiyah Riddle in Montgomery, Alabama, contributed to this report.