Latest news with #TimLilley
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 Tim Lilley argues long-standing problems at Reagan National, from outdated systems to risky procedures, contributed to the tragedy.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 Tim Lilley also expressed concern about outdated air traffic control technology.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.
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- General
- Yahoo
DC crash co-pilot ‘at the prime of his life': Dad
Watch the full interview with Tim Lilley on 'Cuomo' at 8p/7c tonight on, online ator on the NewsNation apps for your television or phone. (NewsNation) — The father of First Officer Sam Lilley — a pilot himself, who flew military helicopters in the '90s — is mourning his son's death following a brutal crash near Ronald Reagan National Airport (DCA) on Wednesday night. Sam Lilley was one of the crew members aboard the American Airlines regional jet that collided with a military helicopter while landing at DCA. What we know about the DC plane crash victims In total, 64 people were on the jet, and there were three people on the UH-60 Black Hawk. Officials have recovered 28 bodies from the icy Potomac River. It's believed there are no survivors, which would make it the deadliest U.S. air crash in nearly 24 years. Tim Lilley told NewsNation that 'the only thing giving me any comfort at all' is Sam Lilley's unwavering faith: 'Sam's right with Jesus, and I know where he's going.' 'We just need time. My family, and time,' he added. 'Lots of prayers.' The full interview will air tonight at 8p/7c on CUOMO. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
