A Richmond Hill High School graduate was among two pilots killed in Wednesday night’s fatal accident between a U.S. military helicopter and a passenger jet near Washington, D.C.’s Ronald Reagan National Airport.
Sam Lilley was a First Officer on the American Airlines flight, according to his father Tim, who expressed his sorrow and condolences in a post on Facebook:
“I was so proud when Sam became a pilot,” Tim Lilley wrote. “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.”
Sam Lilley went to Richmond Hill High School and graduated from Georgia Southern University.
Mayor Russ Carpenter, who also currently teaches U.S. Government classes at Richmond Hill High School, expressed his condolences in a statement:
“We are saddened by the news of Richmond Hill native Sam Lilley,” Carpenter wrote. “Many people at RHHS have fond memories of him. We are praying for his family and fiancé.”
The midair collision killed all 67 people aboard both aircrafts, according to the Associated Press, and marks the deadliest U.S. air crash since 2001.