AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - At least two crew members of the aircraft that collided Wednesday night have ties to Georgia, News 12 has learned on the day after the tragedy killed scores of people at Ronald Reagan National Airport outside Washington, D.C.

An American Airlines flight carrying 64 people and an Army helicopter carrying three soldiers on a training flight collided in midair Wednesday night as the plane was trying to land.

All of the people involved are feared dead.

A soldier on the helicopter, Ryan O’Hara, and a pilot on the plane, Samuel Lilley, both have Georgia ties.

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Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp took to social media to offer condolences to both families.

“We send our deepest condolences to the families and friends of Ryan O’Hara and Sam Lilley as they navigate this difficult time,” Kemp wrote in a post on X. “Both of these young Georgians shared a passion for flight and for serving others, and this terrible tragedy is that much more difficult knowing their lives were cut so unexpectedly short. Marty, the girls, and I ask that all Georgians join us in keeping their loved ones in our thoughts and prayers.”

Samuel Lilley

One of the American Airlines pilots of Flight 5342 was 28-year-old Samuel Lilley from Savannah.

Lilley, the first officer of the flight, was engaged and started training in 2019.

His father, Timothy Lilley, is a former helicopter pilot with the Army.

“I was so proud when Sam became a pilot,” Timothy Lilley said in a Facebook post Thursday. “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.”

Friends said Sam Lilley graduated from Georgia Southern University.

Ryan O’Hara

Ryan O’Hara, the crew chief on the UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter, was part of the 2014 class of Parkview Marine Corps JROTC at Parkview High School in Lilburn.

“Our deepest condolences go out to Gary O’Hara and his entire family,” Parkview MCJROTC said in a Facebook post. “Ryan is fondly remembered as a guy who would fix things around the ROTC gym, as well as a vital member of the rifle team.”

According to Jonathan Koziol, chief of staff for Army aviation, the crew flying the Army Blackhawk helicopter was “very experienced” and were not new to the unit or the congested flying that occurs daily around Washington, D.C.

“Both pilots had flown this specific route before, at night. This wasn’t something new to either one of them,” Koziol said.

“Even the crew chief in the back has been in the unit for a very long time, very familiar with the area, very familiar with the routing structure.”

The crew included an instructor pilot and pilot in command who were experienced to the point where either crew member “could manage that helicopter by themselves.”

The instructor pilot, who was serving as pilot-in-command, had about 1,000 flight hours, Koziol said.

The instructor pilot was evaluating the second pilot — who was also qualified as a pilot in command — for that night training flight and the pilot who was being evaluated had about 500 flight hours, Koziol said.

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