Remembering Charlotte-based crew aboard American Airlines Flight 5342

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — “It just makes us very sad for our American family they were a regional jet, and we’re mainline, but very very very sad.”

That’s what an anonymous American Airlines flight attendant told WCCB Charlotte not even 24 hours after American Airlines Flight 5342 tragically collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter as it attempted to land at Reagan National Airport Wednesday evening. 67 people lost their lives – including the four-person Charlotte-based crew aboard the regional jet.

Danasia Elder was a flight attendant who was full of life, according to a family member on social media. A childhood friend posted on Facebook, saying Elder – who went by ‘Nay’ when with loved ones – was a “sweetheart,” a “caring person,” and had a passion for flying. Elder leaves behind a husband and two children.

The other flight attendant on board was Ian Epstein, a 52 year old man who lived in Harrisburg. He once worked at the Camping World in Concord, but friends on social media say his true calling was in the air. A coworker posted to Facebook after his passing, saying Epstein was a “truly exceptional individual, distinguished by his remarkable warmth and empathy,” going further to say she interacted with numerous American Airlines employees on a daily basis, but remembered Epstein as “undoubtedly a stand-out favorite.”

In the cockpit were pilot Jonathan Campos and first officer Sam Lilley. Campos, 34 years old, graduated from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, in 2015. He also was a student and later an instructor at nearby Epic Flight Academy. Epic Flight released an official statement, saying, “He was a skilled and dedicated pilot with an undeniable passion for flying.”

Lilley was 29 years old and was engaged to be married later this year, his father said in an interview with UK-based Daily Mail. He went on to say his son was months away from being promoted to captain, allowing him to lead his own commercial flights with American Airlines. In a twist of fate, Liley’s father is a former Black Hawk pilot and had flown the exact route the helicopter involved flew countless times.