Jonathan Campos had all the time dreamed of being a pilot.
The Brooklyn native had been residing out his dream till final week’s tragic crash in Washington, D.C. His life was minimize quick on Jan. 29 when American Airways flight 5324 collided with a navy helicopter over the Potomac River in Washington, D.C.; 67 individuals have been killed.
Campos’ highschool pal and former fiancé says the captain had all the time wished to be a pilot.
”For about a third of my life, he was the love of my life,” Nicole Suissa mentioned.
Suissa met Campos once they have been solely 14 years outdated at John Dewey Excessive College in Brooklyn. He was her first boyfriend and her former fiancé.
“It may not have worked out with me or with a lot of his relationships, but the longest standing relationship he had was with aviation,” Suissa mentioned Saturday.
She mentioned Campos all the time wished to be a pilot. He attended Embry-Riddle Aeronautical College at 18. She mentioned he was completed — flying for American Airways for six years and was captain for 3.
Within the wake of his tragic passing, Suissa mentioned she needs to guard his legacy and push again towards President Donald Trump’s unfounded claims that range hiring practices may have triggered the crash.
”He was a damn good pilot,” she mentioned. “I don’t think that this has anything to do with DEI. I think unfortunately this is being politicized and that’s completely inappropriate.”
“Yeah, he’s Puerto Rican, that’s really irrelevant, doesn’t matter what he was. He was a good pilot. He was a good American pilot and that should be the focus.”
Whereas he wasn’t piloting, Suissa mentioned Campos was goofy, and preferred to chase thrills: like driving bikes, scuba diving and sky diving.
”This is a man who really knew how to live. I want him to be known for that. I want him to be known for the big personality and the big adventure that he was, instead of how he died.”
His passing has left the Campos household overwhelmed and heartbroken.
Suissa mentioned Captain Campos will likely be buried in New York on the similar cemetery as his father. The household continues to be making funeral preparations.
“Even if we couldn’t be together, we wanted each other to be happy,” Suissa mentioned, “and I just, you know, hope whatever the hell he’s doing up there, he’s happy.”
