The father of a First Officer who perished in last month’s tragic plane crash in Washington is advocating for reforms in aviation legislation.
On January 29, an American Airlines commercial plane and a US army helicopter collided at Ronald Reagan International Airport, near Washington D.C.
Sixty-seven individuals were on board both aircraft, and all lost their lives, marking it as the deadliest air disaster in the United States since 2001.
Among the victims was 28-year-old First Officer Sam Lilley, one of the pilots on American Airlines Flight 5342.
His father, Timothy Lilley, has expressed that Sam was thriving both professionally and personally, with plans to marry.
Timothy, who served 20 years in the army piloting Black Hawk helicopters, the same model involved in the collision with the American Airlines plane, is now advocating for aviation law modifications in light of his flying experience and his son’s tragic demise.
He proposes prohibiting military aircraft from operating at civilian airports, overhauling pilot training, and mandating that aircraft have an operational Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) while in Class B airspace.
Currently, military aircraft aren’t obligated to have TCAS when flying in Class B airspace, Timothy notes.
His appeals follow new revelations on potential causes of the crash.
In a briefing on Friday (February 14), National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Jennifer Homendy stated: “We are looking at the possibility of there may be bad data.”
It was reported that one pilot believed the aircraft was at 400 feet, while the other thought they were at 300 feet.
Homendy added: “In addition to this, the transmission from the tower, that instructed the helicopter to go behind the plane, may not have been heard by the crew the pilot may have keyed her radio at the same second and stepped on the transmission from ATC.”
Furthermore, it was revealed by Texas Senator Ted Cruz that the army helicopter had its Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast (ADS-B) switched off during the collision.
The ADS-B technology enables aircraft to communicate their position, altitude, speed, and other data to ground stations and other aircraft.
Cruz argued that ‘there was no national security reason for ADS-B to be turned off’ on the military helicopter.