Savannah holds memorial service for pilot Sam Lilley of DC midair crash

SAVANNAH — Hundreds of friends and family gathered here Saturday at a memorial service for pilot Sam Lilley, highlighting his pride in his profession but also his kindness and his humor.

Lilley, 28, was the first officer on PSA Airlines Flight 5342 on Jan. 29 when a midair collision between the commercial passenger plane and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter at Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington killed everyone onboard both aircraft.

Lilley, who lived in Charlotte, was a 2014 graduate of Richmond Hill High School on the outskirts of Savannah and a 2018 graduate of Georgia Southern University. In 2022, he began flying for PSA Airlines, a subsidiary of American Airlines. Lilley had proposed to his fiancee Lydia Coles on a trip to Ireland last year and the two had planned to marry this fall.

At the public memorial service at Georgia Southern’s Armstrong Campus, Lilley was remembered for more than his achievements.

“When Sam started to attend our church, he was a very active member,” said Mark Snavely, the pastor of Coastal Community Christian Church in Richmond Hill. “He was very active, almost hyperactive, to the point of being silly and goofy, crazy and wild at times. My impression of Sam is of wonder because it was never a dull moment for him, but also for his kindness.”

Credit: Tim Lilley

Credit: Tim Lilley

Lilley’s youth minister at Coastal Community, Mark Andrews, said Lilley managed to retain a sense of humor even when he broke his hip while running in a track meet for Richmond Hill.

“We knew he wasn’t going to be the fastest in the race,” Andrews said. “As he came around the final turn, his body did what I can only describe as a hiccup and then he kept running and finished the race. He went around and talked to the coaches. I would be on the floor waiting for an ambulance, but Sam said, ‘Well, I don’t think I’m going to be a track star in college because apparently I have granny hips.’”

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Those killed in the Jan. 29 crash included 60 passengers and four crew members on the PSA jet, which was out of Wichita, Kansas, and three Army personnel on the helicopter, from Bravo Company of the 12th Aviation Battalion at Davison Army Airfield in Northern Virginia. There was a large contingent at the memorial from PSA, including CEO Dion Flannery.

The cause of the crash, the deadliest commercial passenger jet crash in the U.S. since 2001, is being investigated by The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration.

“From the many stories I’ve been told, Sam, just like his dad, was proud to be a pilot,” said Capt. Jason Ambrosi, the president of the Air Line Pilots Association, International. “Sam, and every one of you here today have my commitment that when the NTSB finalizes this investigation and makes its recommendation, ALPA will put our full force to ensure those recommendations are implemented to prevent another tragedy like this.”

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Sam’s father, Tim Lilley, is a private jet pilot who flew Black Hawks for more than 20 years when he was in the Army. He said he had often flown the route in the 1990s over the Potomac that the downed Black Hawk took.

U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter (R-St. Simons Island), who also spoke at the memorial, said that many of his staff had flown earlier that day into Reagan National prior to a retreat in West Virginia.

“We were all together when I saw the news and heard about what happened,” Carter said. “I fly into that airport at least twice a week. So, of course, it was very concerning to all of us and we all thought, ‘Wow, how could this happen?’ We were just there earlier in the day.”