Latest news with #TimLilley
Washington Post
2 days ago
- General
- Washington Post
Tim Lilley spent his life flying. Then his son died in a plane crash.
While other kids had posters of movie stars or rock bands on their walls, Tim Lilley covered his with pictures of aircraft. He took his first flying lesson at age 13, got a private piloting license at 17, joined Army flight training at 19. He started out flying Black Hawks, then made a career in the cockpit of choppers and planes. So on the evening of Jan. 29, as he saw news that an Army helicopter had collided with a passenger plane over D.C., he was struck by the enormity of the disaster. Tim reached out to someone else who would understand: his son Sam, who followed in his footsteps and became a pilot for PSA Airlines. Sam didn't respond. Tim realized the plane that had plunged into the Potomac was a PSA jet. After a series of frantic calls to family he learned that he had just watched on television the death of his youngest son, the first officer on the flight. In those first moments of raw grief, and every day since, Tim has found himself in two roles. He's a dad in mourning. He's also an aviation expert — one who has flown both types of aircraft in the Jan. 29 collision at Reagan National Airport, and both routes — focused on finding answers and accountability for the families of all 67 people killed in what was the deadliest domestic plane crash in over two decades. 'I started — even though I let my emotions get in — I started trying to think critically about it right from the get-go and try to, you know, be a problem solver,' Tim said. 'I still miss Sam terribly, and that will never be solved. But … most aviation regulation is written in blood. That means somebody had to die in order for us to figure out a better way to do things. And that's probably going to be part of Sam's legacy.' Less than 24 hours after the crash, Tim was talking not just about how Sam raised money for charity and was about to get married but about how night-vision goggles, combined with the light from the city, might have blinded the helicopter crew to the passenger jet. He hasn't stopped talking, digging, pushing for answers that he thinks could help prevent another tragedy — including stricter protocols for Army maneuvers around passenger flights and an updated and fully staffed air traffic control system. The former service member is particularly upset with what he sees as a lack of responsibility from the Army. From the beginning, he said it was clear the helicopter crew made 'a grave error,' probably mistaking a farther-away plane for the jet they were told to avoid. But he wanted to know why Army leadership and the Federal Aviation Administration allowed them to be so close to another aircraft and rely only on their eyes to navigate around it. Initial reporting from the National Transportation Safety Board confirmed that the helicopter crew were probably wearing night-vision goggles, were flying too high and may have had a faulty height reading. The report also found that they were not broadcasting their location with a satellite system and may have lost crucial messages from air-traffic control. Tim hopes a three-day NTSB hearing this week will answer more of those questions. In the meantime Tim has analyzed the air traffic, listened to podcasts from veterans of the Black Hawk's battalion, made charts of the air traffic at National. At an air safety conference, he rolled out a tape measure to illustrate how close Army helicopters and commercial planes were supposed to fly in the airspace at National — a mere 58 feet apart, which he called 'unacceptable' and 'insane.' He also privately contacted military leaders, including a veteran who served with him in Panama, where he witnessed a crash between two Black Hawk helicopters that led his unit to require four-person crews rather than the three that were flying at DCA. 'I knew my dad was smart, I knew my dad had a lot of knowledge, but I'm just amazed at how much, in the middle of grief, and in the most horrific time that any of us have ever experienced, I'm amazed at his wherewithal to be able to think about, okay, this should have happened, this should have happened, this is not what should have went on,' Tiffany Gibson, Sam's older sister, said. 'I'm just very, very proud of him.' 'Gary, my name is Tim Lilley, my son Sam Lilley was the first officer on flight 5342. I want you to know that we grieve with you. At some point when you are ready, maybe we can get together for a good cry.' Gary O'Hara received that message in March. It took him until May to reply. O'Hara's son was the crew chief on the helicopter that crashed into Sam's plane. While Staff Sgt. Ryan O'Hara was not piloting the craft, his father felt the entire crew had been pitted against the PSA victims in the public eye. But by the time he and his wife met Tim and his wife, Sheri, at a restaurant in Richmond Hill, Georgia, it was clear there would be no such division. 'There's really nobody else that can relate to what we're going through other than another parent dealing with this,' he said. They realized that their children, both 28 and living less than 20 miles apart, in another reality might have been friends. Tim reached out because he wanted the families of the three service members who died to know that he does not blame them for Sam's death. He blames Army leadership for allowing them to train in such a crowded airspace without making sure they did everything possible to mitigate the risk of a collision. He told O'Hara that when he flew those routes in the 1990s they would never rely on visual separation — pilots using their own vision and discretion to avoid other aircraft. 'We knew better,' he said. 'But when all that experience left after the wars ended, you know, nobody passes on the notion that asking for visual separation is a dangerous thing to do.' At first, Tim and Sheri were encouraged by the response from the Army, from everyone. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy immediately restricted helicopter traffic around the airport and vowed to address the lapses that occurred in the tower at National through better equipment and staffing. The Lilleys met with members of Congress and watched as their representative described Sam on the House floor as 'a charismatic and intelligent young man who loved his fiancée, Lydia Coles, flying, his family and the Lord.' But as Tim's questions got more pointed, and his emails to military personnel started featuring phrases like 'ineffective leadership,' the Army stopped engaging and 'started to ghost me,' he said. Only after 168 family members and loved ones, the Lilleys among them, wrote a letter saying the Army is 'persistently refusing to accept responsibility or even acknowledge the families throughout these ordeals' did Army Secretary Dan Driscoll agree to meet them. The Army declined to comment on the letter. Driscoll said at a hearing in June that the Army is 'doing everything we can to learn from the incident to ensure that it never occurs again' but needs to let the legal and investigatory process 'play out.' Sam and his father always shared a love of adventure, but as Sam approached his 30s, the resemblance between them grew. Most obviously, Sam decided to become a pilot. But he also started wearing Hawaiian shirts and making the same corny jokes. He had gone from saying he might never get married to preparing to start a family. Now Tim is following in his son's footsteps. He was the only member of the family to view the autopsy. He would like to know Sam's last words, not sanitized in an NTSB readout as some kind of expletive. Last month he and his wife went to the rocky cliff in Dublin where Sam proposed to his girlfriend a few months before the crash. He has thought about something his pastor once wrote: that we are not humans with spirits but spirits having only a brief human experience on Earth. He likes the idea that when he dies, Sam will be the one to show him around. Sam had six tattoos, none of which his father was crazy about. But about a week after the crash, while he was still waiting to bring Sam's body home, Tim woke up from a dream he can't remember convinced that he should get a tattoo in Sam's honor. On his bicep he now has a black ribbon bisected by a plane, next to the name of the flight — a symbol shared by the families of the victims. A month after the crash, Tim went back to work flying private planes. Sometimes his passengers recognize him or ask a question that leads back to the crash. Any time he flies American Airlines, which owns PSA, it happens. He doesn't mind. 'I talk about it every day. That's my therapy,' he said. 'All my co-pilots get to hear about Sam.' This summer he has been all over Europe — Milan, Paris, Majorca, Sicily, Nice, Innsbruck. He thinks about texting Sam to tell him how beautiful it is and how different the flying rules are, to tease him about being stuck on a layover in Kansas while his dad was on the Cote d'Azur. Sam would have countered that he flew the bigger plane. Sometimes Tim would forget and send the message anyway until one day he pocket-dialed Sam's number and was startled to receive a text in reply. The number had been reassigned. The new owner said they had been getting messages from Sam's friends and knew the pain of losing a son. Tim could message the number any time, they said. 'And also thank you for your service.' Ian Duncan contributed to this report.
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Family of pilot killed in DC midair crash calls for air safety reforms, thanks Trump admin for swift action
The family of Sam Lilley, a pilot killed in the deadly midair collision between an American Airlines jet and a Black Hawk helicopter near Washington, D.C., earlier this year, is speaking out and hoping to turn grief into action. "We [want to] make sure that no other family has to go through the loss that our family and the other 66 families have gone through," said Tim Lilley, Sam's father and a pilot himself. The January crash near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) claimed the lives of all 67 people aboard both aircraft. Since the incident, the Lilley family has called for changes to air safety protocols, particularly regarding military and commercial flight coordination near the Pentagon. Tim Lilley argues long-standing problems at Reagan National, from outdated systems to risky procedures, contributed to the tragedy. Two Planes Do 'Go-arounds' To Avoid Military Helicopter Near Reagan Washington National Airport "It only takes a minute to look at the procedure going out of the Pentagon and know you should not have a helicopter circling east of the Pentagon while there's aircraft, commercial aircraft, on approach to runway 19 at broader Reagan," he said. Read On The Fox News App Duffy Blasts Biden, Buttigieg For Ignoring Report About Failing Air Traffic Control System: 'Did Nothing!' He recalled previous conversations with his son about the complexity of flying into the area. "Sam and I talked quite a bit about the flights into DCA and Ronald Reagan International and the challenges that come with that," he said. Their concerns echo broader issues facing the aviation industry. A New York Times report after the crash highlighted understaffing at the Reagan control tower, and a lawsuit claims the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) improperly discarded qualified air traffic controller applicants based on race. Tim Lilley also expressed concern about outdated air traffic control technology. "The system just can't keep up with what's going on. This thing was designed decades and decades ago," he said. Black Hawk Pilot Failed To Heed Flight Instructor In Moments Before Plane Collision Over Dc: Report Despite the tragedy, the Lilleys are hopeful about efforts underway to fix what's broken. They credit Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy for moving quickly after the crash. Faa Increasing Air Traffic Control Staff, Supervisors At Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport "Secretary Duffy, he gets it," Tim said. "We met with him just a few days after the accident. Everything that we asked for, he's taking action on. I asked him to do this at the speed of business and not the speed of government, and he's really coming through." The Department of Transportation unveiled a sweeping three-year framework to modernize the nation's air traffic control system. The proposal released Thursday includes upgraded radar, new telecommunications networks, and six new air traffic control centers nationwide. Sam's family expressed gratitude for the administration's support. "I just really [want to] thank President Trump for his leadership in putting forth this program," said Tim, who stressed that aviation safety is not a partisan issue. "Every family deserves to know that their loved one is on a commercial aircraft that's [going to] get there safely," Tim said. "This goes both sides of the aisle. We're just looking for support from everybody. I think all Americans deserve safe skies." Even as changes begin, the Lilley family says their advocacy is just beginning. "We are in this for the long haul," said Sam's stepmother, Sheri Lilley. "Tim and I are adamant that we want to make the name Sam Lilley synonymous with aviation safety."Original article source: Family of pilot killed in DC midair crash calls for air safety reforms, thanks Trump admin for swift action
Fox News
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Family of pilot killed in DC midair crash calls for air safety reforms, thanks Trump admin for swift action
The family of Sam Lilley, a pilot killed in the deadly midair collision between an American Airlines jet and a Black Hawk helicopter near Washington, D.C., earlier this year, is speaking out and hoping to turn grief into action. "We [want to] make sure that no other family has to go through the loss that our family and the other 66 families have gone through," said Tim Lilley, Sam's father and a pilot himself. The January crash near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) claimed the lives of all 67 people aboard both aircraft. Since the incident, the Lilley family has called for changes to air safety protocols, particularly regarding military and commercial flight coordination near the Pentagon. Tim Lilley argues long-standing problems at Reagan National, from outdated systems to risky procedures, contributed to the tragedy. "It only takes a minute to look at the procedure going out of the Pentagon and know you should not have a helicopter circling east of the Pentagon while there's aircraft, commercial aircraft, on approach to runway 19 at broader Reagan," he said. He recalled previous conversations with his son about the complexity of flying into the area. "Sam and I talked quite a bit about the flights into DCA and Ronald Reagan International and the challenges that come with that," he said. Their concerns echo broader issues facing the aviation industry. A New York Times report after the crash highlighted understaffing at the Reagan control tower, and a lawsuit claims the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) improperly discarded qualified air traffic controller applicants based on race. Tim Lilley also expressed concern about outdated air traffic control technology. "The system just can't keep up with what's going on. This thing was designed decades and decades ago," he said. Despite the tragedy, the Lilleys are hopeful about efforts underway to fix what's broken. They credit Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy for moving quickly after the crash. "Secretary Duffy, he gets it," Tim said. "We met with him just a few days after the accident. Everything that we asked for, he's taking action on. I asked him to do this at the speed of business and not the speed of government, and he's really coming through." The Department of Transportation unveiled a sweeping three-year framework to modernize the nation's air traffic control system. The proposal released Thursday includes upgraded radar, new telecommunications networks, and six new air traffic control centers nationwide. Sam's family expressed gratitude for the administration's support. "I just really [want to] thank President Trump for his leadership in putting forth this program," said Tim, who stressed that aviation safety is not a partisan issue. "Every family deserves to know that their loved one is on a commercial aircraft that's [going to] get there safely," Tim said. "This goes both sides of the aisle. We're just looking for support from everybody. I think all Americans deserve safe skies." Even as changes begin, the Lilley family says their advocacy is just beginning. "We are in this for the long haul," said Sam's stepmother, Sheri Lilley. "Tim and I are adamant that we want to make the name Sam Lilley synonymous with aviation safety."
Fox News
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
DC plane crash victim's father says 'culture of complacency' allowed fatal accident to happen
The father of the American Airlines co-pilot who died in a midair collision near Reagan National Airport in January told FOX Business Thursday a "culture of complacency" allowed the disaster to happen. Tim Lilley spoke about his son, First Officer Sam Lilley, ahead of a Senate hearing on the Jan. 29 collision involving an Army helicopter. National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy told lawmakers the families and friends of the 67 victims "are here today," and "I can only imagine what they're going through." "My son was an outstanding young man whose career and his life was just taking off, and we were not ready to lose him, and we never would be. And there's 66 other families that are going through this same thing. This accident was so preventable," Lilley told FOX Business. "And I'm hoping today that some of this is going to come out. You know, we really need to work on this culture of complacency that allowed this accident to happen." During the hearing, Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., said a preliminary report from the NTSB "provides alarming statistics in using existing FAA data on the risks at DCA to aviation safety. "That data includes — and NTSB provides these numbers — in a 13-year period, not a single month went by without at least one 'close call' between a helicopter and a commercial jet operating at DCA [Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport]. Between Oct. 21 and Dec. 24, there were 85 incidents where the lateral separation between a commercial jet and a helicopter was less than 1,500 feet, and the vertical separation was less than 200 feet," he said. "And during that same [13-year] timeframe, there were more than 15,000 'close proximity events' between a helicopter and a commercial airplane." Lilley added that, since the disaster, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has "really been a champion to change things and change them not at the pace of government, but more like at the pace of business, which is something that we're just championing. We love that." He also said "the worst day of my life was the 29th of January" and "the second-worst day of my life was the day after. "If you've ever had to sit in on an NTSB brief, and you're full of orphans and widows and families that have lost their sons, and the first guy who gets up and briefs is the fire chief, and he tells you it was a gruesome scene, there was body parts spread across the ice — this is something that no family should ever have to go through," Lilley said. "And what we're trying to do here, we're just going to make sure that no family ever has to go through that same scenario." Homendy opened her testimony Thursday by saying "it's important that we remember today that those who died at DCA and in other accidents we investigate aren't numbers. ... These are mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, wives, husbands, cousins, best friends who won't be there with their loved ones for Easter egg hunts, Passover Seders, the end of Ramadan, Mother's Day, Father's Day, graduation, all of life's celebrations. "Their families and friends, whether in person or online, are here today. I can only imagine what they're going through, and I want to take a moment to again express our deepest sympathies to each of them," she said. "Please know that we keep you in our hearts as we diligently work to determine how this tragedy happened. So, no one, no one experiences the deeply significant loss you must feel today." Dailey Crafton, the brother of victim Casey Crafton, told FOX Business, "I think for myself, and I think most of the families, we're looking for accountability for what happened from whatever agency needs to have accountability. "We're devastated. It's a big gaping hole in our lives, and it comes in waves," he added. "Some days are all right. Some days you can, like, you barely don't even want to get out of bed, and you know you can't stop thinking about it and feeling just anxious and stressed out and everything. So, it's a roller coaster." Maxim Naumov, a figure skater whose parents, former Olympians Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, died in the midair collision, told NBC's "Today" show Thursday the last message he heard from his mother was to "let me know that they're switching flights and that if I could pick them up."
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Fatal DC plane crash not a fluke accident
Tim Lilley, father of Flight 5342 co-pilot Sam Lilley and a former Blackhawk pilot, joins NewsNation to discuss the preliminary report on the deadly plane crash in Washington, D.C., six weeks ago. The NTSB found significant issues at Reagan National Airport that may have contributed to the Jan. 19 crash, which killed 67 people aboard a regional jet and a Blackhawk helicopter.
