The heartbroken girlfriend of fallen DC pilot Capt. Jonathan Campos wept as she told mourners at his Brooklyn funeral Tuesday that it’s “impossible to fathom how I will face the days to come without him.”
The tragic pilot’s family, friends and colleagues — including many in their flight uniforms — gathered at the Shrine Church of St. Bernadette in Dyker Heights to pay their last respects to Campos, a 34-year-old Queens native who died late last month when his passenger jet collided with a Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River in DC.
Longtime girlfriend Ashley Childress said through tears at the service that she’d spent the past decade building a life with the outgoing, gregarious Campos — and she wasn’t sure what to do now.
“What a great life it was — and what a great life together we lived,” she said. “The memories and legacy Jon is leaving behind is a pure reflection of the life he lived and the person he was.
“It’s impossible to fathom how I will face the days to come without him.”
Campos grew up in Brooklyn, the son of an NYPD cop. His belowed father died when he was 9, leading Campos to take his dad’s badge with him when flying.
Campos had the badge on him while piloting American Eagle Flt. 5342 when it crashed into the military chopper in a stunning midair collision over Washington on Jan. 29, killing him and 66 others. The badge was recovered from the wreckage and given to his family.
The passenger jet — operated by the American Airlines regional subsidiary PSA Airlines — was descending toward Reagan International Airport after leaving Wichita, Kan., when it slammed into the Black Hawk, sending both aircraft plummeting into the Potomac.
Sixty passengers and four crew members people aboard the American jet were killed, as well as the three soldiers in the chopper.
Dion Flannery, the airline’s president and CEO, said at Campos’ funeral that the pilot was known as a kind man and a skilled flyer.
“There was a deep appreciation for him as safe, professional aviator, as a trusted colleague and as a warm, considerate friend,” Flannery said. “Jonathan loved what he did. And he wore a permanent smile on his face at work.”
Colleagues wiped away tears as they stood in a sorrowful semicircle outside the Roman Catholic church to watch as the pallbearers hoisted his casket into the hearse.
“Jonathan really was a one-in-a-million person — he just had such a fun personality,” said Capt. Chas Connors, a Delta pilot who met Campos in college 11 years ago, to The Post. “It was impossible not to have fun just being around him. He was a very adventurous person.”
Campos was also a mechanic and had his helicopter license, Connors said — “He just lived aviation.”
But above all, he was a fantastic pilot, colleagues said.
“I remember the first time he and I flew together, I was almost embarrassed at how much better he was at flying a plane than I was,” Connors said. “I was just like, ‘Oh my gosh!’ It was embarrassing to me how much better he flew. … So incredible.”
During the hour-long service, Childress said Campos had a litany of hobbies outside work such as traveling, working on his bike, parsing through stores for coral or fish for their aquarium and hitting car shows and gun shows.
Follow the NYP’s coverage of the deadly DC plane collision
“We were there and we did them all together. … John’s love for life consumed my world,” she said. “He made me braver than I thought I could ever be.
“His dreams became my dreams, his goals became part of my goals,” she sai. “I guess that’s what it’s like when you’re in love with your best friend: No secrets too big, no story too small. And we all know that he had plenty of stories to tell.”
He also loved people, she said. And he would strike up conversations everywhere, casually making friends as she stood beside him in amazement.
“Thank you for teaching me to step out of my comfort zone and accepting every part of me when I couldn’t,” she said, addressing her late love.
“You made sure I felt loved, appreciated and, most importantly, happy.
“I’m not sure how to face the days ahead without my soul mate,” she said.
“So I will hold firmly to the memories of what it’s like to have and love that person – my John, my soul mate and my best friend.
“I always knew I would love you forever. Thank you for the last 10 years.”
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