
For the friends and family of Jonathan Campos– the captain of American Airlines Trip 5342, which dove right into the Potomac River on Wednesday after ramming a Black Hawk helicopter– the sensations of pain that complied with the information of his fatality were swiftly changed by temper.
As Head of state Donald Trump made misguided cases criticizing variety, equity and incorporation plans for adding to the midair accident, Campos’ previous bride-to-be stated her liked one’s fatality swiftly ended up being politicized, outweighing his life tale and disrupting the household’s pain.
” This guy’s body had not also been taken out of the river yet, and we’re discussing him being unqualified since his name is Campos,” Nicole Suissa informed ABC Information.
Eventually after the most dangerous American airplane collision in over 20 years, Trump recommended throughout a White Residence rundown that variety, equity and incorporation efforts for air web traffic controllers at the Federal Aeronautics were partly responsible for the accident.
” We desire one of the most experienced individuals. We do not care what race they are,” the head of state stated. “If they do not have an excellent mind, a world power of the mind, they’re not mosting likely to be great at what they do and negative points will certainly occur.”
While the root cause of the collision stays obscure and family members just starting to regret, criticizing variety hiring on the collision was “infuriating” and “shocking” Suissa stated.
” What truly upset me to no end was it was, the following day they released Jonathan’s name and Jonathan’s extremely Puerto Rican-looking face, all I might listen to in the rear of my head was all these individuals, all these DEI fear-mongering individuals going, ‘You see, I understood he would certainly be Hispanic,’ and I shed my mind,” Suissa stated. “The politicization of this guy’s fatality is completely unacceptable. It is abhorrent. It is disgraceful. It is aloof to claim the least.”

Blossoms and a letter in memorial to the sufferers of a midair accident of an American Airlines jet and a Black Hawk helicopter near the Potomac River are visualized at the Titanic Memorial, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025, in Washington.
Carolyn Kaster/AP, DOCUMENTS
Since Tuesday, detectives with the National Transport Security Board remained in the onset of determining the root cause of the midair accident that eliminated 67 individuals incorporated on both airplane. Authorities have actually had the ability to determine 55 collections of remains and are remaining to recoup the body of the business airplane from the Potomac.
As the healing procedure and examination proceeds, Suissa stated she really hopes individuals bear in mind Campos for the guy she understood and liked for the last twenty years– a person that got over the difficulty of his life to attain his objective of being an expert pilot prior to that desire was stopped.
” He was doing whatever right. He did whatever he was expected to do,” she stated. “He was a by-the-book pilot, and he did whatever he was expected to do, and I assumed when you do whatever right, that you reach live.”
Suissa initially fulfilled Campos throughout their fresher year at John Dewey Secondary School in Brooklyn, New york city, viewing him benefit years to attain his life objective of coming to be a pilot. A 2015 grad of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical College, Campos flew airplane for over a years, consisting of for at the very least 6 years with American Airlines. If anybody would certainly have had the ability to securely land that airplane recently, Suissa stated she thinks it would certainly have been Campos.
” He would certainly have done whatever, whatever in his power to land that airplane since there were 60 individuals on it, and he never ever took that gently,” she stated.

Capt. Jonathan Campos was the pilot aboard American Airlines Trip 5342.
Impressive Trip Academy
Campos appreciated his papa, that was a police officer with the New york city Cops Division. However when his papa passed away in 1999 of liver failing when Campos was simply 9 years of ages, it dropped on his stepmother and auntie to elevate him. Both ladies took a trip to Washington, D.C., after the collision to determine their child, Suissa stated.
” I still desired him to, you understand, live this long, delighted, satisfying life, and I desired him, I definitely desired him to outlast his papa,” she stated. “For 15 years of my life, I assumed I would certainly be authorizing his marital relationship certificate, not his fatality certification. So below we are.”
Suissa herself understood Campos for greater than twenty years, dating on and off, obtaining involved prior to damaging it off, and inevitably deciding on being buddies.
” It’s amusing, really, we each mosted likely to prom with another person– even more out of spite than anything,” she stated. “Throughout the years, we had actually type of approved that the charming item of it mored than, and we continued to be buddies. We never ever truly quit talking with each other.”
Suissa– that is preparing Campos’ funeral service and working as the household agent– stated their activity of doing getaway areas throughout the nation, consisting of in Las Las vega, Baltimore, Philly, New York City City and Orlando, Florida.
” We would certainly defeat the entire point, simply both people, in under an hour,” she stated. “We kind of matched each various other because means. Our personalities really did not match each various other, yet our skills did.”

A diving group and cops watercraft are seen around a wreck website in the Potomac River from Ronald Reagan Washington National Flight Terminal, Jan. 30, 2025, in Arlington, Va.
Jose Luis Magana/AP
She defined Campos as the best adrenaline addict, finding out to advise various other pilots, fly helicopters, scuba diving dive, snowboard and skydive.
While Campos suched as pressing his limitations throughout his leisure activities, Suissa stated he took absolutely nothing as seriously as he did flying readily. Impressive Trip Academy– where Campos functioned as a teacher– remembered him as “an experienced and devoted pilot with an obvious enthusiasm for flying.”
As she intends Campos’ funeral service, she stated she’s pertained to terms with the truth that he’s gone, though the political dispute bordering his fatality remains to infuriate her.
” I do not question for a minute that if there was anything he might have done to avoid it, he would certainly have,” she stated.