The father of an American Airlines co-pilot who died in an airborne collision near Reagan National Airport in January said on Thursday that Fox Business allowed a “culture of self-satisfaction” to cause disasters.
Tim Lilly spoke about his son, First Mate Sam Lilly, prior to the Senate hearing on the January 29 crash involving an Army helicopter. Jennifer Homendy’s National Road Safety Board chair told lawmakers that the family and friends of the 67 victims were “here today” and “I can only imagine what they are going through.”
“My son was an outstanding young man whose career and his life took off, and we weren’t ready to lose him. We never would have been. And we have 66 other families who are experiencing this same thing. This accident was very preventable,” Lily told Fox Business.
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“And I hope some of this comes out today. You know, we need to tackle this culture of self-satisfaction that really caused this accident.”
During the hearing, R-Kan. Sen. Jerry Moran said a preliminary report from the NTSB “provides incredible statistics on the safe use of existing FAA data on DCA risks.
Tim Lilly of Inset said the January 29 air collision near Reagan National Airport in Washington, DC was “very preventable.” (Fox Business/AP/Ben Curtis)
“To that data, the NTSB provides these figures — in 13 years it wasn’t a month without at least one ‘close call’ between helicopters and commercial jets operating in DCA (Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport). feet,” he said. “And during the same (13-year) time frame, there were over 15,000 ‘proximity events’ between helicopters and Comerst planes. ”
Since the disaster, Lily said that Transport Secretary Sean Duffy has “occasionally is something that’s similar to the pace of business, not the pace of government.
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He also said, “The worst day of my life was January 29th,” and “The second day of my life was the next day.
“If you had to sit in an NTSB brief, you’d be full of orphans, widows and families who lost their son, the first man was the fire chief, and he says it was a horrifying scene.
“And all we’re trying to do here is make sure there are no families who have to go through the same scenario.”
In this photo, shared by Tim Lilley, co-pilot Sam Lilly, who died on the deadly American Airlines Flight 5342, smiles from the plane’s cockpit. (Tim Lilly)
“It’s important to remember that no numbers are the numbers that have died at the DCA or those who have died in other accidents investigated,” Homedy said Thursday.
“Their family and friends are here today, whether in person or online. All they can do is imagine what they are going through, and I want to take a little time to express our deepest sympathy again to each of them,” she said. “Know that we have you in mind as we work diligently to determine how this tragedy happened. So no one will experience the deep, important losses that you have to feel today.”
Daily Crafton, brother of victim Casey Clafton, told Fox Business.
“We are devastated. It’s a huge gap hole in our lives, and it’s riding the waves,” he added. “One day it’s fine. There are days when you don’t even want to get out of bed. And you know you can’t stop thinking about it, worrying, stressing, feeling everything. So it’s a roller coaster.”
Salvage crews will lift up some of the Army Black Hawk helicopters involved in the air collision on February 6th. (AP/Jose Luis Magana)
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Maxim Naumov, a figure skater whose parents, former Olympic athletes Evgenia Sisykova and Vadim Naumov, died in an airborne collision, told NBC’s “Today” show that the last message he heard from his mother was informing me that “they’re switching flights and if I could pick them up.”
