08-02-2025
Sam Lilley is home. Pilot killed in plane crash honored at Savannah airport; memorial Feb. 15
Sam Lilley, the pilot who was killed on a plane that collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter above the Potomac River Jan. 29, was welcomed home Saturday.
His body was flown into the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport and received a water cannon salute.
Lilley attended high school at Richmond Hill High School and college at Georgia Southern University. A moment of silence was held during the Feb. 4 Richmond Hill City Council meeting to honor all of the victims who lost their life during the incident.
His father Timothy Lilley said in a Facebook post that he did something he thought he would never do – get a tattoo. He did so to honor Sam and donned the art on his Facebook page, which consists of a plane intertwined with a ribbon and the airplane's flight number, PSA 5342.
According to Lilley, a memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Feb. 15 the Fine Arts Hall of Georgia Southern Armstrong campus in Savannah and is open to the public.
Latrice Williams is a general assignment reporter covering Bryan and Effingham County. She can be reached at lwilliams6@
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Sam Lilley's body returns home; pilot given water cannon salute
