Father of American Airlines pilot killed in Washington DC plane crash slams government: ‘Written in blood’

“[Sam] was doing great in his career,” Timothy said of his late son, who was among the 67 people killed in the country's deadliest air disaster since 2001.

The father of the 28-year-old American Airlines pilot who died in the devastating Washington DC plane crash last month has slammed the government. Speaking to Fox News, Timothy Lilley called for stricter aviation regulations in the wake of the mid-air collision between an AA regional flight and an army Black Hawk.

An American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas collided midair with a military Black Hawk helicopter while on approach to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on January 29, 2025 outside of Washington, DC. According to reports, there were no survivors among the 67 people onboard both aircraft.(Getty Images via AFP)

Father of American Airlines pilot killed in devastating DC crash slams government

“[Sam] was doing great in his career,” Timothy said of his late son Sam Lilley, who was among the 67 people killed in the country's deadliest air disaster since 2001. “He was doing great in his personal life, he was set to be married,” the former Army helicopter pilot added.

Timothy, who regularly flew Black Hawk helicopters in his 20-year service in the army, went on to say, “It’s been said, and it is true, that most aviation regulations are written in blood,” adding, “That means that something terrible has to happen for us to make a change.”

The former army man now seeks to leverage his experience to entice lawmakers to enact change, including the cessation of military aircraft operations at civilian airports and revamped training for pilots, among others. Discussing his late son's career, Timothy told the outlet, “If he stayed at PSA long enough, he was going to end up at American Airlines.”

“He wanted to be an international captain and fly the 777s to Europe and Asia,” the father said of the late pilot. Timothy, who flew the same Potomac route “hundreds of times” as a former Black Hawk pilot, explained that “there are hundreds of things that could have gone wrong” that led to the deadly crash.

Timothy continued, “Maybe both pilots had their heads down looking at the radio at once, maybe they thought a different aircraft was that one, maybe they saw lights on the ground and thought it was the aircraft, maybe they were doing an emergency procedure training, and they were distracted by that,” before admitting, “I don’t know what happened in that cockpit.”