CHARLOTTE (QUEEN CITY NEWS/AP) — At least five people who lived or worked out of Charlotte were killed in the tragic midair collision of PSA Flight 5342 with a military helicopter this week.
Capt. Jonathan Campos, First Officer Sam Lilley, and flight attendants Ian Epstein and Danasia Elder were all on the flight and based out of Charlotte, according to several outlets and the AP.
Wendy Jo Shaffer, of Charlotte, was identified by family as a passenger who was on the flight.
The American Airlines jet was carrying 60 passengers and four crew members when the plane and an Army helicopter carrying three soldiers collided in midair Wednesday night.
Authorities say there were no survivors after the two aircraft plummeted into the Potomac River in the country’s deadliest aviation disaster since 2001. More than 40 bodies have been pulled from the icy waters of the river as recovery operations continue.
The American Airlines crew was traveling on a daily direct route from Wichita, Kansas, to Washington, D.C., at the time of the collision. The soldiers aboard the Black Hawk helicopter were conducting an annual night proficiency training flight, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said, adding that they were a “fairly experienced crew.”
What we know so far:
Sam Lilley
Lilley’s father, Timothy Lilley, told WAGA-TV in Atlanta that he was in Washington waiting for answers.
“This is undoubtedly the worst day of my life,” said Timothy Lilley, who also is a longtime pilot and served as a U.S. Army helicopter pilot for 20 years, noting he flew similar routes in and out of the Pentagon.
“I was so proud when Sam became a pilot,” he wrote on Facebook. “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.”
Timothy Lilley said his son was excelling in his career and personal life at the time of his death and was engaged to be married later this year.
Sam Lilley graduated in 2018 with a degree in marketing but decided to become a pilot. He had earlier graduated from Richmond Hill High School, just south of Savannah, Georgia, where he had been an active member of Coastal Community Christian Church.
A local news story from 2011 highlighted his efforts to raise money to build a water well in a Zambian village.
Sells, his friend from college, said there was no one better suited to be a pilot.
“There was no one that cared more. There was no one that was more passionate,” Sells said, saying Lilley valued “taking care of people and them putting their trust in him.”
Outside the plane, Lilley was devoted to making others happy and the type of person who always was the first onto a dance floor, Sells said.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen that man in a bad mood, spreading negativity,” Sells said. “He was the type of person where if someone was not having a good time or someone was upset, he would do everything in his power to pull them out of it.”
Jonathan Campos
The captain of the American Airlines flight was 34-year-old Jonathan Campos, according to multiple news reports. His aunt, Beverly Lane, told The New York Times that Campos had wanted to be a pilot since the age of 3.
“I think he wanted to be free, and be able to fly and soar like a bird,” Lane said.
She told the newspaper she talked with Campos on Wednesday, just before the fateful flight. He told her he was looking forward to an upcoming Caribbean cruise with family.
Campos was a 2015 graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, where he studied Aeronautical Science, according to the university.
Ian Epstein
Flight attendant Ian Epstein was killed when American Airlines Flight 5342 crashed into a military helicopter Wednesday night in the Potomac River in Washington, D.C.
Ian was married to Debi Epstein for 23 years.
“He died doing what he loved,” Debi Epstein told Queen City News Anchor Robin Kanady on Thursday before she left Cabarrus County for D.C.
Debi says Ian was known for his personality and was considered a ‘comedian’ on flights and that everyone loved him, and he enjoyed keeping passengers calm during flights.
Ian switched careers five years ago to become a flight attendant so that he could travel and see the world.
“It’s unfathomable, you don’t expect to get that phone call, and what’s the chance out of two flight attendants in the world that he’s on that flight?” said Debi Epstein in tears.
Ian lived in Charlotte and had two children who went to high school in Harrisburg.
Wendy Jo Shaffer
Queen City News confirmed a Charlotte mother was a passenger on the regional flight that collided with the U.S. Army helicopter Wednesday night.
The family has confirmed with QCN that Wendy Jo Shaffer, of Charlotte, was one of 64 people who died on the flight.
Wendy was a wife and mother of two small children. She was returning from a business trip with a layover in D.C.
We are devastated. Words cannot truly express what Wendy Jo meant as a daughter, a sister, a friend, a wife, and most importantly, a mother. The family is requesting privacy at this time.
Family of Wendy Jo Shaffer
