Sam Lilley was an American Airlines pilot who died on 29 January in in the midair collision between an American Airlines passenger plane and a U.S. Army Black Hawk Helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington, DC. Sam was 28 years old. Around 9 pm his Flight 5342 collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River while approaching the DC airport. The flight had departed from Wichita, Kansas, carrying 60 passengers and four crew members. There were 4 people on the helicopter. No-one survived.
Sam’s father, Timothy, a former Army helicopter pilot, was in New York for his work when he realized that his son was flying when the crash happened. He knew something was wrong when Sam failed to check in, which is something he always did. Timothy wrote, “Sam was the First Officer on the flight that crashed in DC last night. He was doing great in his career and his personal life. He was engaged to get married in the Fall. It is so devastating to lose someone who is loved so much. It was undoubtedly the worst day of my life.”
Sam was a Christian and so is his dad. Timothy wrote on Facebook, “I was so proud when Sam became a pilot. 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,” Death is an enemy and brings grief and loss however it happens and at whatever age – whether by sudden accident in our youth or after a long illness in old age. Christian hope is a wonderful comfort when we lose someone we love and know that they are with Jesus in heaven and one day we will see them again.
On the evening before he was condemned to die on the Cross, Jesus spent time with his close disciples. He was a young man and died a cruel, unjust death. Jesus wanted to comfort his disciples and prepare them for the loss and sadness they were about to experience. He told them, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.”