The grieving father of the 28-year-old American Airlines pilot is calling for stricter regulations in the wake of the devastating midair collision near Washington, D.C.

Sam Lilley was the first officer on American Airlines Flight 5342 when a U.S. Army Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter collided with the plane, causing the two aircraft to plunge into the Potomac River during the plane’s descent into Ronald Reagan International Airport on Jan. 29.

All 67 people aboard both aircraft were killed, making it the country’s deadliest air disaster since 2001. 

“[Sam] was doing great in his career,” Timothy Lilley, a former Army helicopter pilot, told Fox News Digital. “He was doing great in his personal life, he was set to be married.” 

“There are hundreds of things that could have gone wrong in there,” Lilley said. “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. I don’t know what happened in that cockpit.” 

Sam Lilley was the pilot of the American Airlines plane that collided with a Black Hawk helicopter near Washington, D.C., on January 29, 2025. (Timothy Lilley)

Despite the tragedy, Lilley is finding peace among the families of the other victims and by honoring his son. 

Lilley told Fox News Digital that his local Georgia community has rallied around their family, with his company sending a private jet to transport Sam’s loved ones to the site of the crash.  

“There were 67 people who lost their lives, and there were families there that had new widows and new orphans and who lost two children and Olympic hopefuls and high-caliber lawyers,” Lilley said. “Every single person involved in this accident, I’d want to be friends with – both in the Black Hawk and in the [airplane].”

He is also looking for ways to honor his son, including pushing for aviation safety and getting a tattoo in remembrance of Sam. 

Timothy Lilley shows the tattoo he received to honor his son, Sam Lilley, who perished on fatal American Airlines Flight 5342. (Timothy Lilley)

PSA airlines has posthumously awarded Sam with the title of honorary captain, saying in a statement that “the title reflects not only his technical expertise but also the profound impact he had on our airline family.”

American Airlines did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

“It’s a tragedy, these lives ended way before any of us were ready for it,” Lilley told Fox News Digital.