Latest news with #SamLilley
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 Tim Lilley argues long-standing problems at Reagan National, from outdated systems to risky procedures, contributed to the tragedy.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 Tim Lilley also expressed concern about outdated air traffic control technology.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."
USA Today
31-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Corrections & Clarifications 2025
Corrections & Clarifications 2025 We recognize that mistakes may happen – or that new information can emerge after a story is published – and we pledge to address all concerns quickly, fairly and transparently. If a correction or clarification is warranted, we will highlight that in the original file and explain to readers why the change was made. Any correction or clarification would also be published on our corrections log. To report corrections & clarifications, email: forum@ Please indicate whether you're responding to content online or in the newspaper. The following corrections & clarifications have been published on stories produced by USA TODAY's newsroom: March Entertainment: A previous version of this article misstated when "The Women" by Kristin Hannah is set. Travel: A previous version of this article incorrectly identified Sam Lilley. He was the first officer of American Airlines flight 5342. Sports: A previous version of this story incorrectly reported that Ilia Malinin is the only person to land six quads in a program. Nathan Chen also has landed six quads in competition, but Malinin is the first to land all six types of quads in one program. Sports: A previous version of this story misspelled the name of Walter Clayton. It also incorrectly referred to the lead Texas Tech had with three minutes left. Texas Tech led by nine. Entertainment: An earlier version of this report incorrectly stated Yolanda Saldívar's next parole date. She will be considered for parole again in March 2030. Entertainment: An earlier version of this story misstated Justin Hartley's age. Sports: A previous version of this story incorrectly reported how many times George Foreman has been married. He was married five times. News: In the May 21 print edition's Page 3A, an article about Hurricane Helene mischaracterizeda windspeed reading. Among many other measurements, Hurricane Helene'ssustained windspeed was estimated at 91 mph near Live Oak, Florida. Travel: In the May 21 print edition's Page 2A, a story mischaracterized the landing gear of the plane in the Toronto airport crash. The Canadian Transportation Safety Board is still probing why the gear failed. Money: Consumer Reports incorrectly named the baby formula with the highest lead levels in its testing. That product was Enfamil's Nutramigen. Sports: A previous version of the printable bracket had an incorrect team in the Regional 1 (Spokane) play-in game. Southern will face UC San Diego. Sports: A previous version of the printable bracket had UC San Diego listed twice. UC San Diego is a No. 12 seed. The winner between San Diego State and North Carolina will be the No. 11 seed in the South. Money: A study on the nation's growing elderly population was attributed incorrectly. The authors were James R. Knickman and Emily K. Snell, who wrote for the journal Health Services Research. News: A prior version of this story included a photo caption that misstated Sen. Amy Klobuchar's title. It has since been updated. News: A prior version of this story misstated the title of Charles Darwin's book. Entertainment: A previous version of this story misstated who attended the Volodymyr Zelenskyy meeting in the Oval Office. February News: A previous version of this article misstated how many federal workers have lost jobs. Money: A previous version of this story misstated the Subaru Forester's MSRP. Entertainment: A previous version of this article mischaracterized Steve Martin's role on "Saturday Night Live." He was not a cast member. News: In a Feb. 19 story on Page 6A about the 95th anniversary of the discovery of Pluto, the number of miles the dwarf planet is from the sun was misstated. The correct number is 3.7 billion miles. Money: An earlier version of this story misstated how much lower Amazon's prices are on average according to an independent study. The figure is 14%. News: A prior version of this story misstated the day of the crash. Travel: An earlier version of this article misstated the cruise line's presence in San Diego. The city was a homeport for Royal Caribbean in 2010. News: A previous version of this video was removed due to a change of rights from the content provider and replaced with a new version. News: A previous version of this story incorrectly described how Rosemary Farm's hens are raised. Money: This story has been updated to reflect that the recall was voluntarily issued by FGF Brands. Money: The story has been updated to clarify that the construction products being discussed are imports. Sports: A previous version of this story incorrectly reported Kultida Woods' age at the time of her death. She was 80. Money: An earlier version of this story misstated the average home insurance figures for a $300,000 home in California, Texas and Florida as monthly figures. They were annual. Sports: This story and headlines were updated to correct the name of the league. TGL stands for Tomorrow's Golf League or TMRW Golf League, which comes from TMRW Sports, the company founded by Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Mike McCarley. January Sports: Previous versions of these stories incorrectly identified one of the victims. Christine Lane was on board the American Airlines flight that collided with an Army helicopter outside Reagan Washington National Airport. News: A Jan. 28 story on Page 1A about the anniversary of the space shuttle Challenger explosion misstated the date of the space shuttle Columbia disaster. It occurred Feb. 1, 2003. News: This story has been updated to correct when the outbreak began. It's January 2024. News: The Resilience lander and Tenacious rover in the Hakuto Mission 2 were incorrectly identified as being part of a NASA CLPS mission. It is a Japanese-led commercial mission. Entertainment: A Jan. 23 story on D1 included an incorrect date for when talks broke down over a proposed "ER" reboot. The plan was scrapped in 2023. Entertainment: A prior version of this obituary misidentified John Sykes in a photo and it has since been replaced. Opinion: A prior version of this column misstated Jeff Bezos' title. News: This story has been updated to correct the name of former first lady Laura Bush. News: This story has been updated to reflect the areas under evacuation for the Palisades Fire. News: A previous version of this story contained an inaccurate population for Butte and Tehama counties, which had a combined population of 276,126, according to the 2020 census. More: Corrections & Clarifications 2016 More: Corrections & Clarifications 2017 More: Corrections & Clarifications 2018 More: Corrections & Clarifications 2019 More: Corrections & Clarifications 2020 More: Corrections & Clarifications 2021 More: Corrections & Clarifications 2022 More: Corrections & Clarifications 2023 More: Corrections & Clarifications 2024
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
DCA crash victim families demand change after senate subcommittee hearing
WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — Family members of the killed in the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) crash are speaking out after a Senate Subcommittee hearing Thursday. Officials from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and U.S. Army addressed the committee with details on the preliminary investigation. PREVIOUS COVERAGE Families say they were shocked to learn about what they call 'systematic failures' that led to the crash. They are calling for major safety changes to prevent this from happening again. The heartbroken father of Sam Lilley, a pilot killed in the DCA crash, says he and other families are working to turn their grief into purpose. 'The hardest day of my life was the 29th, the second hardest day was the day after that when the NTSB told us about our loved ones spread across the ice,' said Lilley. 'My son's legacy is to get some things done to make sure that this doesn't happen again,' Family members say they were shocked to learn the NTSB identified 85 close calls around DCA in the three years before the crash. 'Wow, really, you know, I guess disbelief that you know it's going on but it is,' said Dailey Crafton, brother of DCA crash victim Casey Crafton. 'I'm glad that something is being done about it now, but it's too little too late for those of us who had family members on that plane.' Senators questioned officials on safety policies, including an exemption for some Army helicopters from its use of the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast or 'ADS-B' technology that transmits location and other data. 'If you had ADS-B out that is transmitting for the helicopter crew—it would not have made a difference,' said NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy. 'It may have made [a] difference for ATC, air traffic control, and may have made a difference certainly for the CRJ crew if they had ADSB in. That is something we'll look at as part of the investigation.' The FAA announced the changes since the crash, including restricting helicopter traffic at DCA. But these families are calling on Congress to implement proven safety technologies, mandate clear communication protocols, and hold agencies accountable to act. The NTSB Chair says she expects the full investigation to be complete by one year. The FAA says it also investigating similar risks at airports in other cities with heavy helicopter traffic. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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.
Yahoo
16-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Public memorial for Sam Lilley
SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) — Hundreds of friends and family gathered Saturday at a memorial service for pilot Sam Lilley, highlighting his pride in his profession but also his kindness and his humor. Lilley, 28, was the first officer on PSA Airlines Flight 5342 on Jan. 29 when a midair collision between the commercial passenger plane and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter at Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington killed everyone onboard both aircraft. WSAV News 3's Tyler Nicole was there. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
