[Samuel Lilley, 28, Confirmed as Victim of Deadly Jet-Helicopter Collision
“I was so proud when Sam became a pilot,” Timothy Lilley, Samuel’s father, said in a Facebook post. “Now it hurts so bad I can’t even cry myself to sleep. I know I’ll see him again but my heart is breaking.” Samuel, a first officer on the American Airlines jet that collided midair with a military Black Hawk helicopter, is engaged to be married in the fall and was “doing great in his career and his personal life,” his father said. His father, a longtime pilot himself, said he was in New York for work when he realized his son was in the cockpit and could not believe it was his son’s flight, later confirming his fears when his son failed to check in, something he always did. Lilley, who served 20 years as a helicopter pilot in the Army, believes the commercial PSA jet was following proper procedures, but the military helicopter made a fatal error. “I think the PSA jet was doing everything right. The Army pilot made a grave error. It hurts me because those are my brothers, and now my son is dead,” he said. This is the worst day of his life, he added.
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