It was and continues to be an awful, heartbreaking story. On a frigid night in late January, a U.S. Army Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter smashed into a commuter flight, American Airlines Flight 5342, which was on its landing approach. The resulting explosion sent both aircraft into the Potomac River along with 67 souls. 

Immediately, questions were asked: was it sabotage, terrorism, unqualified pilots, a lack of air traffic controllers, what? Although investigations continue, it would appear that the helicopter was flying higher than it was supposed to and the crew may not have heard a crucial command from air traffic control. 

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But another question many started asking was, what was a military helicopter doing anywhere near the flight path of a commercial craft in the first place? I am not a pilot or aviation expert, but like many people, I thought, "That seems like a dangerous practice."

The grieving father of 28-year-old American Airlines pilot Sam Lilley, who was the first officer on the flight, is speaking out and he wants changes:

"[Sam] was doing great in his career," Timothy Lilley, a former Army helicopter pilot, told Fox News Digital. "He was doing great in his personal life, he was set to be married..." 

In the wake of his son’s death, Timothy [also an experienced pilot] is leveraging his experience to call on lawmakers and military officials to enact change, promising that part of Sam’s legacy will be aviation safety. 

Now he is asking the military to cease flight operations at civilian airports, revamp training for pilots and require aircraft to have an operational Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) while inside Class B airspace. 

Currently, military aircraft are not required to be equipped with TCAS when flying in Class B airspace, which comprises the largest civilian airports within the country, according to Lilley.

"It's been said, and it is true, that most aviation regulations are written in blood," Lilley said. "That means that something terrible has to happen for us to make a change."

Watch (if the video is slow to load, click here):

Lilley was just one of the souls who lost their lives in the tragedy.

WATCH: The body of Sam Lilley, the Richmond Hill-born co-pilot who perished on the fatal American Airlines flight 5342, arrived in Savannah on Saturday morning.
Lilley was honored with a water canon salute at Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport. pic.twitter.com/hjJg2GgbyZ

— WSAV News 3 (@WSAV) February 8, 2025

Sam Lilley, the First Officer aboard the American Airlines plane that crashed, was a Christian.

His father says Sam was "right with Jesus."

Praise God!https://t.co/9Dsq81TwbP pic.twitter.com/8lJ2p9BxKj

— Christian Tweets (@JesusSavesUs777) January 31, 2025

Lilley Sr. said there were numerous factors that could have contributed to the disaster:

Until the investigation concludes, victims' families can only speculate about the collision that killed their loved ones. Lilley, as a former Black Hawk pilot who flew the same Potomac route "hundreds of times," believes he can offer a unique perspective.

"There are hundreds of things that could have gone wrong in there," Lilley said. "Maybe both pilots had their heads down looking at the radio at once, maybe they thought a different aircraft was that one, maybe they saw lights on the ground and thought it was the aircraft, maybe they were doing an emergency procedure training, and they were distracted by that. I don't know what happened in that cockpit." 

In a nice gesture, PSA Airlines [a subsidiary of American Airlines] posthumously awarded Sam with the title of honorary captain, saying in a statement that "the title reflects not only his technical expertise but also the profound impact he had on our airline family."

RIP Sam; and dad Timothy, we hope you’re able to effectuate the changes needed to make sure this never happens again.