SAVANNAH, Ga. — Sam Lilley, the American Airlines pilot on board a plane that collided with a military helicopter last month, is being laid to rest on Saturday.
A memorial service is being held in the Fine Arts Hall of the Georgia Southern Armstrong campus in Savannah.
Lilley, who was recently engaged, was serving as First Officer on the flight before it crashed into the Potomac River.
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Speakers at the memorial service included U.S. Representative Buddy Carter, who represents the Savannah area.
While speakers remembered Lilley, an artist sat on the stage creating a painting.
Lilley graduated from Georgia Southern University in 2018.
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Georgia Southern University President Kyle Marrero released a statement after Lilley’s death.
“The Georgia Southern community is deeply saddened by the loss of one of our outstanding alumni, Sam Lilley (’18), who embodied the Eagle spirit and soared beyond in his career. We will continue to keep Sam’s family and friends in our thoughts as they grieve this tragedy,” he wrote.
Three soldiers were on the helicopter conducting a training flight while 64 passengers and crew members were on American Airlines Flight 5342, operated by PSA Airlines.
There were no reported survivors of the crash.
The NTSB is continuing to investigate what led up to the crash.
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