ORLANDO, Fla. — Channel 9 has learned that First Officer Samuel Lilley trained at the ATP Flight School In Daytona Beach in 2020.
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Pilot Skeeter Moreno, who trained with Officer Lilley, said, “This hurts so hard.”
Channel 9 reporter Daryl Mathews will have a one-on-one interview with pilot Moreno.
An American Airlines jet carrying 60 passengers and four crew members collided Wednesday with an Army helicopter while landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, prompting a large search-and-rescue operation in the nearby Potomac River, according to the Associated Press.
There were multiple fatalities, according to a person familiar with the matter, but the precise number of victims was unclear as rescue crews hunted for any survivors.
READ: Officials say U.S. Figure Skaters among those aboard passenger jet that crashed near DC
Three soldiers were onboard the helicopter, an Army official said.
There was no immediate word on the cause of the collision, but all takeoffs and landings from the airport were halted as dive teams scoured the site and helicopters from law enforcement agencies across the region flew over the scene in methodical search for bodies.
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