They have identified the pilots and flight attendants of American Eagle Flight 5342, which tragically crashed above Washington, D.C., into a U.S. Army Black Hawk chopper.
The regional jet crashed into the Potomac River on Wednesday night close to Reagan Washington National Airport when Captain Jonathan Campos, 34, and First Officer Samuel Lilley, 29, were at the controls.
As Flight 5342 made its final approach to DCA, it collided 400 feet above the Potomac River, causing a devastating conflagration that sent both planes plummeting into the river.
The PSA Airlines-operated jet, which was carrying 60 passengers, was completing a routine flight from Wichita, Kansas, when the accident occurred.
First Officer Samuel Lilley, who was recently engaged, was just months away from being promoted to captain, a milestone he had been working toward in his lifelong dream of aviation, his father Timothy Lilley shared in an emotional interview.
“Samuel was in the prime of his life. He was engaged to a beautiful, wonderful girl, and we were all excited about her joining the family,” said Timothy, who himself is a former Army Black Hawk pilot. In a tragic coincidence, he revealed that he had previously flown the same type of helicopter in the exact airspace where the crash occurred.
At the time of the accident, Timothy was at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, unaware that his own son was involved. “I saw the crash on the news. I didn’t think there was any way it was my son,” he recalled. “But then I watched long enough to realize it was his airline, and I knew his schedule.”
Captain Jonathan Campos, who was originally from New York but grew up in Florida, had dedicated years to his passion for aviation.
According to records from Epic Flight Academy, Campos was certified as a flight instructor in 2017 before earning his commercial airline pilot license in 2018.
The two flight attendants aboard Flight 5342 were Ian Epstein and Danasia Elder. Epstein, like Lilley, came from a family of aviators.
His father, who is also a pilot, shared that Ian was engaged to be married and had begun his airline career in 2019.
The aviation community is mourning the loss of these dedicated professionals as investigations into the cause of the midair collision continue.
The FAA and NTSB have launched a full inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the crash, and further details are expected in the coming days.
