Multiple people with ties to Florida and Georgia were onboard a plane that crashed after colliding with a military helicopter near Washington D.C. Wednesday Night, including the crew. Our Orlando Station, WFTV, has obtained information that Captain Jonathan Campos trained at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach.
Captain Campos was flying the American Airlines jet to Ronald Reagan National Airport.
The University has released the following statement:
“Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Captain Jonathan Campos (Aeronautical Science,’15). Our thoughts are with his family and the families and loved ones of all impacted by this tragic accident.”
Read: Helicopter, plane collide: Officials say there are no survivors
64 people were onboard the jet, while 3 were on the helicopter. There appears to be no survivors, according to officials.
Local representative and Georgia House Majority Caucus Whip James Burchett (R-Waycross) also confirmed the identity of two Georgia men killed in the crash, including the first officer onboard American Airlines Flight 5342.
First Officer Samuel Lilley was a graduate of Richmond Hill High School and Georgia Southern University. As an aviator, Lilley was following in the footsteps of his father, a former Army helicopter pilot. He had recently become engaged.
WFTV reports that he graduated from the ATP Flight School In Daytona Beach in 2020.
Read: Air traffic control expert says military aircraft aren’t a safety risk for Jacksonville airport
Along with Lilley, Georgian Ryan O’Hara was killed. He was a 2014 graduate of Parkview High School in Liliburn and served as a Blackhawk Helicopter Crew Chief. He leaves behind a wife and one-year-old son.
Burchett released the following statement on their deaths Thursday:
“Like all Americans, I mourn the loss of life in this tragic incident that claimed the lives of at least two Georgians, Ryan O’Hara and Sam Lilley.
Tragedies like this have an even greater impact on all of us when they hit close to home.
Sam was from Richmond Hill near Savannah, while Ryan went on from the Parkview High School Junior ROTC near Atlanta to serve our country as an Army aviator.
While we will no doubt learn what went wrong and what we can do to prevent accidents like this in the coming weeks, I join all Georgians today in mourning the loss of these two young men and the dozens of others who lost their lives in this tragedy.”
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Read: ‘I want to get in the air, get home’ Jacksonville flyers speak out after tragic plane crash
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