The captain of the plane that plunged into the Potomac River on Wednesday night had wanted to become a pilot from the time he was 3 years old, said his aunt Beverly Lane.
“I think he wanted to be free, and be able to fly and soar like a bird,” Ms. Lane said.
Her nephew, Jonathan J. Campos, 34, was one of the four crew members aboard American Airlines Flight 5342, which was carrying 60 passengers from Wichita, Kan., to Washington, D.C., on Wednesday night. The plane collided with an Army helicopter as it approached Reagan National Airport shortly before 9 p.m.
In interviews, family members of the crew said their relatives had loved to fly.
Mr. Campos had worked for eight years for PSA Airlines, which operated the flight, according to his aunt. The job allowed him to travel from his home base in Florida and experience new things, she said.
Sam Lilley, 28, was a co-pilot on the flight, according to his father, Timothy Lilley. The elder Mr. Lilley said in a text that his son had grown up in Savannah, Ga., and learned to fly in 2019.
On Facebook, Mr. Lilley wrote that his son was engaged to be married in the fall.
“I was so proud when Sam became a pilot,” he wrote in the post. “Now it hurts so bad I can’t even cry myself to sleep.”
Scott Hubbard, 32, worked with the younger Mr. Lilley at PSA and, before that, at an aerial surveying company.
“Anything you’d want in a person, in a pilot, is what he was,” Mr. Hubbard said. “I just feel honored to have known him.”
Mr. Campos was raised in Brooklyn, his aunt said. They remained close and spoke for the last time on Wednesday evening, just before his flight. He was looking forward to spending time with family on a Caribbean cruise planned for early February, she said.
Mr. Campos, ever fascinated by engineering and transportation, was particularly looking forward to touring the ship’s engine room.
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