SAM LILLEY, IAN EPSTEIN, JONATHON CAMPOS, DANASIA ELDER
Lilley, 28, was one of two pilots on the plane, serving as the first officer, his father, Timothy Lilley, said in a Facebook post.
“I was so proud when Sam became a pilot,” wrote Lilley, himself a pilot, who was in New York at the time of the crash. “Now it hurts so bad I can’t even cry myself to sleep.”
Sam Lilley was engaged to be married later this year, his father said. The Lilley family has ties to Savannah, Georgia, reported FOX 5 Atlanta.
“This is undoubtedly the worst day of my life,” Timothy Lilley told the television station.
Flight attendant Epstein was an outgoing person who loved his job, his ex-wife, Debi Epstein, told the Charlotte Observer.
“He made flying fun for the passengers on the plane so they didn’t get scared,” she said. “He was always the jokester and just doing the announcements with the twist.”
Ian Epstein had two daughters, including one who is getting married in eight weeks, Debi Epstein told the newspaper.
Campos was the captain of the plane, and Elder was the second flight attendant, according to media reports.
WENDY SHAFFER
Shaffer, who lived in Charlotte, devoted her life to her family, including her two small children, ages one and three, friends said on Thursday.
Bill Melugin, a Fox News correspondent and a friend of the family, confirmed her death and posted a statement from Shaffer’s husband, Nate, in an X post.
“Wendy was not just beautiful on the outside, but was a truly amazing woman through and through,” Nate Shaffer said.
“She was the best wife, mother, and friend that anyone could ever hope for. Her love, kindness, and strength touched everyone she met.”
A GoFundMe page set up to raise money for her family described her as a “radiant soul”.
“Wendy was the heart of her family – a loving partner to her husband and a nurturing, joyful mother to her children,” the fundraiser’s organisers wrote.
“Her boys were her greatest pride and joy, and she dreamed of watching them grow into the amazing individuals she knew they would become.”
RYAN O’HARA
Ryan O’Hara was one of three soldiers on board the Black Hawk helicopter, a US official confirmed.
O’Hara attended Parkview High School in Gwinnett County, Georgia, where he was a member of the school’s Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC), a program that trains high school students for military service.
In a Facebook post that was later removed, the ROTC wrote, “Ryan is fondly remembered as a guy who would fix things around the ROTC gym as well as a vital member of the Rifle Team”, according to local media reports.
O’Hara had a wife and a one-year-old son, the post said.
INNA VOLYANSKAYA
Russian-born Volyanskaya, a skating coach in the Washington area, was on board the plane, according to an X post from US Representative Suhas Subramanyam and a report from the Russian news agency TASS.
Volyanskaya competed as a pairs skater for the Soviet Union in the 1980s. She coached young skaters at the Washington Figure Skating Club, according to the club’s website.
In a statement on Thursday, the club did not confirm whether any member or coach was on the flight but said it was “devastated” by news of the crash.
“More information will be posted when appropriate,” the club said.
